Faster Payment System (Hong Kong)


Faster Payment System is a real-time gross settlement payment system in Hong Kong that connects traditional banks and electronic payment and digital wallet operators. Users are able to perform instant money transfer or make payment to merchants by using the recipient's phone number, e-mail or QR code that contains the user's numeric identifier. Using the "traditional way" of full name and account number to make interbank transfer is also allowed.
The system was implemented by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and operated by Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited. It was launched for pre-registration on 17 September 2018. Transfers and payments is available since 30 September 2018.

Features

Cheap transfers

Traditional interbank transfers required payment of fees between 50 HKD and 200 HKD, or a waiting time of up to two days before the payment clears. FPS provides an instant, round-the-clock and cheap way of transferring funds. For personal banks accounts, interbank fund transfer through FPS is normally free of service charges.

Payment by QR code

Participants in the FPS share a common standard for the QR code which allows paying to merchants using a variety of payment methods like bank cards, stored value facilities or direct debit from bank accounts.
HKMA has released a tool for merchants to convert QR codes from different payment providers into a single standard QR code.

Currencies

FPS supports payments in Hong Kong dollars and Renminbi.

Notable participants

Traditional banks

E-wallet operators

Incidents

October 2018

After 3 weeks of launching FPS in Hong Kong, there were several cases of fraud reported to Hong Kong Police that involved a combined loss of HKD 180,000 to customers. After the incidents were found, HKMA suspended the top up function of all e-wallets operators until the security issues were fixed. A few days later, it was revealed that more than 10 suspected cases were reported and the loss was surged to HKD 400,000.