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LettersA financial centre like Hong Kong must embrace digital evolution
Readers discuss outdated practices across the city’s financial institutions, the basics of promoting snooker, and the West’s ‘my way or the highway’ policy
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As someone managing a deceased parent’s estate, I have recently encountered a disturbing pattern of outdated practices across Hong Kong’s financial institutions that threatens our city’s status as a leading financial centre.
The inconsistency across Hong Kong’s financial institutions is striking. While some embrace modern solutions, others stubbornly cling to physical paperwork and wet signatures, citing security concerns that do not stand up to scrutiny. The Hong Kong Jockey Club, despite processing billions in electronic bets, insists on physical cheques for estate settlements. Meanwhile, more progressive institutions like HK Electric and the Water Supplies Department efficiently handle similar matters through electronic channels. Citi demands wet signatures for authorisation to release account information to my attorneys preparing probate applications, refusing to communicate and authenticate electronically. HSBC requires weeks to process asset transfers after presentation of probate grant, while Citi completes them on the spot.
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