appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Enoch Yiu

China’s financial authorities have granted Hong Kong residents a new daily remittance quota for the yuan, as a cross-border electronic transactions service prepares to kick off, linking 315 million users between the city and the mainland.
Starting from noon on Sunday, the 17 million registered users of Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS) will be able to remit up to HK$10,000 (US$1,282) per day for each bank account to 298 million users on the mainland’s Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS) via the Payment Connect.
The scheme, supported by six banks each on the mainland and in Hong Kong, will let users transfer money across borders to pay for travel, meals, education, medical services, salaries and other daily activities, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
“We will continue to explore other use cases,” said Nelson Chow, the HKMA’s executive director for financial infrastructure, during a briefing on Friday. “The infrastructure of cross-border payment is now up, like a highway for payments. We just need to continue to explore more use cases in future.”

The scheme, in development since August last year by the HKMA and the People’s Bank of China, will revolutionise cross-border remittances for individuals and businesses, while boosting Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre and a trading hub for offshore yuan, said the HKMA’s chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man.
Mainland residents are still limited to US$50,000 in annual overseas remittances, while Hong Kong residents are subject to an 80,000 yuan (US$11,129) ceiling in daily transfers to accounts of the same name on the mainland. Using Payments Connect, transfers for medical bills, tuition fees or daily needs can be unlimited. Employers can also remit salaries across borders, subject to pre-approvals by banks, said Stephen Pang, the HKMA’s senior manager for financial infrastructure development.

The Hong Kong Association of Banks, the industry’s powerful lobby, welcomed the launch in a statement, adding that the public should “take full advantage of the convenience, accessibility and reliability of Payment Connect.”
The scheme will be very important for the internationalisation of the yuan and encourage more companies to expand across the border, said Tom Chan Pak-lam, chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Securities Dealers.
“Payment Connect will enable mainland companies to remit yuan to Hong Kong for salaries, which will enlarge the pool of offshore yuan in Hong Kong and enhance the city’s status as the offshore yuan centre,” Chan said.

The six Hong Kong banks in the Payment Connect are HSBC and its unit Hang Seng Bank, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Bank of East Asia, ICBC (Asia) and China Construction Bank (Asia).
The six mainland participants of the scheme are the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
“With growing mobility between Hong Kong and mainland China, evidenced by initiatives like the Northbound Travel Scheme for Hong Kong vehicles and the multiple-entry Individual Visit Scheme for Shenzhen residents, the demand for seamless cross-border solutions has never been greater,” said HSBC’s Hong Kong CEO Luanne Lim. “Payment Connect will enhance convenience and efficiency for cross-border travel, education, and daily activities, benefiting both individuals and businesses.”

The relaxation of cross-border payments will benefit Hongkongers who are looking to buy property in the Greater Bay Area, as outlined in the policy announcement at the start of 2024.
Bank of China (Hong Kong) “will work with stakeholders to use this Payment Connect highway to launch more yuan products to promote the internationalisation of the yuan and to enhance Hong Kong as an international financial centre and offshore yuan trading hub,” the bank said.
The FPS, launched in 2018 by HKMA to make cross-bank and e-wallet payments easier, operates 24/7 and supports payments in Hong Kong dollars and yuan. The FPS had 17 million registered users as of March this year, according to data from Hong Kong Interbank Clearing. The number of registered users is more than the total population of Hong Kong as an individual can have more than one account.


Mainland China’s stock exchanges mount charm offensive amid Hong Kong IPO boom

For China’s hi-tech IPOs, it’s Hong Kong vs the mainland – but how much does it matter?

Betting on People-First Banking

Will fresh incentives give China’s housing market more than a short-lived rebound?

Banking & finance

China grants Hong Kong new yuan quota as Payment Connect kicks off for 315 million users

An image of the Faster Payment System (FPS), which recorded 17 million users as of March 2025. Photo: handout

Eddie Yue Wai-man, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), during the launch of the Payment Connect scheme with the People’s Bank of China in Beijing on June 20, 2025. Photo: PBOC

Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People’s Bank of China (centre); Wang Linggui, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (second right); Lu Lei, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China (first right); Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (second left); and Zhang Hui, President of the Bank of China (first left) at the launch of the Payment Connect service on June 20, 2025. Photo: Handout.

A China Construction Bank (Asia) bank branch in Causeway Bay on May 18, 2025. Photo: Eugene Lee

A consumer with a Tap & Go e-wallet at Cityplaza in Taikoo Shing on August 2, 2021. Photo: May Tse.

HKMA warns carry trades, weak currency to spike borrowing costs in Hong Kong

The HKMA is wary of the impact of carry trades on the Hong Kong dollar and local interbank rates. Photo: Felix Wong

Hong Kong Monetary Authority at the International Financial Centre in Central. Photo: Shutterstock

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at a press conference in Washington on June 18, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

A vehicle loaded with rolls of steel in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania on May 30, 2025. Photo: AFP

An electronics and appliances retailer in Montebello, California, on April 16, 2025. Photo: Getty Images

HSBC, Standard Chartered among 24 Hong Kong lenders to get funds from yuan trade facility

People pass HSBC headquarters in Hong Kong. Photo: Elson Li

Hongkongers can use FPS for cross-border payments by midyear: HKMA

Hongkongers will soon be able to use FPS for for daily expenses across the border. Photo: Eugene Lee

Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System had 14.95 million registered users as of July. Photo: HKMA

Business

News

Banking & Finance

China Business

Companies

Money

China

Money & Wealth

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

Starting from noon on Sunday, the 17 million registered users of Hong Kong’s FPS will be able to remit up to HK$10,000 per day to 298 million users on the mainland’s IBPS


Starting from noon on Sunday, the 17 million registered users of Hong Kong’s FPS will be able to remit up to HK$10,000 per day to 298 million users on the mainland’s IBPS.
