Editorial | Payment Connect can boost Hong Kong as a hub for international finance
Programme is the latest step in more than a decade of work to open mainland China’s vast financial sector to the rest of the world
Connections are crucial to business success and a core mission for superconnector Hong Kong.
So it is quite significant that a new electronic payment service linking the city and mainland China is being well received by people on both sides of the border.
The Payment Connect system enjoyed a smooth launch on June 22, handling 6,900 northbound and 19,000 southbound transactions.
A Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) spokesperson said average transaction sizes were around 800 yuan (US$111) heading to the mainland and 3,100 yuan to the city.
The People’s Bank of China and the HKMA arranged for the linkage between Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS) and the mainland’s Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS).
It has opened doors for 315 million users to transfer money across the border to pay for travel, meals, education, medical services, salaries and other daily activities.
The 17 million FPS registered users are now able to remit up to HK$10,000 (US$1,300) per day for each linked bank account to 298 million users of the IBPS.