Yue advances AI governance and 24/7 tokenized deposit settlement
Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), set out four initiatives at Hong Kong FinTech Week. Its Fintech 2030 strategy combines data, artificial intelligence, tokenization and resilience under the DART framework.
AI agents meet governance tests
HKMA will launch SAGE, Securing Agentic Finance with Governance and Enablement, to test AI agents in controlled settings and explore interoperability standards.
Experts from finance, payments, professional services, technology and academia will advise on applications and safeguards.
A discussion paper seeks views on bank governance, accountability, a trusted-agent register and a Know Your Agent standard.
With Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and industry partners, HKMA is launching a post-quantum cryptography toolkit covering governance, assessment, implementation and cryptographic agility.
Yue said quantum computers might break existing encryption in three years, five years or longer; banks' migration may take years.
Tokenization moves beyond the sandbox
Project Ensemble will expand providers and enable real-value interbank tokenized deposit settlement 24/7, supporting corporate liquidity management and future retail investment.
Hong Kong already has tokenized bonds, money funds and gold.
HKMA completed secondary-market tokenization trials for Exchange Fund Bills, improving trading and repo efficiency; wider trials will explore regulated stablecoin payments.
With Cyberport, its tConnect Launchpad opens applications on November 2, 2026, extending participation to fintech firms and digital-asset businesses.
Wider reach requires safeguards
The Faster Payment System will connect to UnionPay International in 2026.
QR payments will progressively reach over 100 million merchants across more than 40 markets through UnionPay and partner networks.
Yue tied innovation to governance and risk controls, with four years remaining in Fintech 2030.