HKMA unveils fintech initiatives at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026

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HKMA launched Project SAGE, a PQC toolkit and new tokenisation and payments initiatives at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority used Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026 to unveil a set of initiatives spanning agentic artificial intelligence, post-quantum cryptography, tokenised settlement and cross-border payments, as the city’s flagship fintech event opened on 2 November.

Evidence and context

In a statement issued on 2 November, the HKMA said it co-organised the 11th edition of Hong Kong FinTech Week with Invest Hong Kong and that the event brought together participants from around the world to exchange insights, showcase innovation and foster business partnerships. The authority said the new announcements are intended to strengthen Hong Kong’s fintech capabilities and deliver direct benefits to corporations and individuals.

Among the measures, the HKMA launched Project SAGE, or Securing Agentic Finance with Governance and Enablement, to support the industry’s exploration of agentic finance applications while establishing a governance framework. The authority also set up a cross-sectoral Agentic Finance Expert Group and published a discussion paper on the use of agentic AI by banks, seeking industry feedback on supervisory considerations for governance.

To prepare the banking sector for the quantum era, the HKMA and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, with support from industry participants, launched a PQC Toolkit for post-quantum cryptography. The toolkit is designed to provide a structured framework and practical tools to guide banks through their transition to PQC, with the HKMA saying it will continue to evolve as standards and implementation practices mature.

On tokenised finance, the HKMA said it has advanced Ensemble TX to a new stage, enabling 24/7 real-value transactions. The authority said the development is intended to support dynamic global allocation of funds, management of tokenised asset portfolios and treasury operations. It also said it has completed trial trades involving Recognised Dealers conducting secondary market transactions in tokenised Exchange Fund Bills, and that it will soon expand the trials to regulated stablecoins. In partnership with Cyberport, the HKMA also launched tConnect Launchpad to connect financial institutions, technology firms and digital asset innovators.

On payments, the HKMA said the Faster Payment System will link with UnionPay International by the end of this year, progressively allowing users to pay by scanning QR codes at more than 100 million merchants across Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and more than 40 overseas markets. HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said Hong Kong is “well placed to capitalise on new growth opportunities in fintech” and that banks and fintech firms can better harness data, AI and tokenisation under the city’s “Fintech 2030” strategy.

The announcement builds on the four strategic pillars under the HKMA’s DART framework: Data and Payment, Artificial Intelligence, Resilience and Tokenisation. The release did not disclose funding amounts, implementation timelines beyond the stated rollout points, or quantitative adoption targets for the new initiatives.