Written by 
Themis Qi
The instant cross-border payment between Hong Kong and mainland China via the Faster Payment System is expected to start trial in mid-2025, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said yesterday.
At Hong Kong Fintech Week, HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man revealed that the authority is discussing details with the People’s Bank of China over linkages between the FPS in Hong Kong and Internet Banking Payment System in the mainland.
Yue expects the collaboration to operate similarly to FPS, which would allow residents on both sides to make real-time, cross-boundary, small-value payments at any time using just their mobile phone numbers.
For the pilot phase, HKMA is still in talks with the PBOC about whether to cover individual users or merchants, how exchange rates and transfer quotas will be set and which areas will be included, Yue said.
A week ago, the HKMA had been reported to commence the pilot in June next year but only cross-border remittance would be trialed in the first phase due to technical issues. Potential use could be expanded to retail consumption, salary payment, Comprehensive Social Security Assistance delivered by the Hong Kong government and others.
Instant cross-border payment has been available with Tencent’s WeChat Pay HK and Ant’s Alipay HK for local residents, as well as their mainland versions for mainlanders, after users add their bank cards to their accounts and finish verifying their identity.
To entice users, both payment tools have offered discounts on exchange rates and waived handling fees, while Hong Kong banks still charge for cross-border transactions via most credit cards.
Alipay HK also revealed yesterday that it has recorded over 4.2 million active users and covers more than 90 percent of local merchants.
IBPS, launched in 2010 by the PBOC, is a real-time electronic fund transfer system connecting the digital banking channels of all commercial banks, with a single transfer volume of up to 50,000 yuan (HK$54,524).
Before trialing IBPS, Hong Kong’s FPS connected with Thailand’s PromptPay last December, allowing Hong Kong tourists to pay as much as HK$10,000 per day in the Southeast Asian country.