Hong Kong Fintech Promotion Blueprint Indicates 4 Incoming Flagship Projects

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released the Hong Kong Fintech Promotion Blueprint on 3 February 2025, which showcased several initiatives to enable responsible innovation and fintech advancement.

The blueprint, published in collaboration with KPMG China and Quinlan & Associates, focuses on five core technology enablers and foundational pillars: AI, Distributed Ledger Technology, High-Performance Computing, Data Excellence and Cyber Resilience.

Arthur Yuen, Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA, shared,

“Financial institutions recognise the transformative potential of sophisticated technologies, yet they anticipate barriers to effective implementation, integration, and capability support. This Blueprint aims to address these challenges head-on through coordinated actions across three strategic dimensions: ecosystem collaboration, technological advancement, and talent development.”

Four flagship projects will be implemented soon.

This series of projects, among others, supports DART, the Fintech 2030 key strategic pillars, which are “Creating Next-Gen Data and Payment Infrastructure”, “A New Holistic Artificial Intelligence Strategy”, “Enhancing Business, Technology, and Quantum Resilience,  and “Tokenisation of Finance”.

For context, Fintech 2030 sets out a comprehensive portfolio of over 40 initiatives, the blueprint highlights.

Four Fintech Flagship Projects Launching in Hong Kong Soon

According to HKMA’s LinkedIn post, four flagship projects would be implemented soon: a Quantum Preparedness Index, a New Risk Data Strategy, a Fintech Cybersecurity Baseline and Competency Development Support.

Quantum Preparedness Index

As high-performance computing advances, including in quantum computing, HKMA states that it has become increasingly important to assess how prepared the banking sector is to adopt these technologies and manage security risks in the post-quantum era.

Due to this, the HKMA plans to develop a Quantum Preparedness Index to evaluate the sector’s readiness for quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography (PQC) adoption. It will focus on offering support to banks, especially small- and medium-sized ones, in strengthening their preparedness.

The first step towards the index’s creation involves setting a baseline for the sector’s overall readiness to adopt quantum computing tech and transition their security frameworks to include PQC.

This baseline will be defined through a comprehensive Quantum Preparedness Assessment, which will evaluate banks’ strategic awareness and operational readiness, while also identifying gaps and improvement areas.

The said assessment will be carried out through a number of information collection activities, market research and interviews.

A transition roadmap will be developed post this assessment, which will outline potential quantum computing and PQC projects. This will also include pilots to address the gaps identified in the assessment, to raise the sector’s overall level of quantum readiness.

The key function of the Quantum Preparedness Index is to serve as a structured way to track the adoption nd integration of post-quantum cryptography across the banking sector, all while measuring the progress in quantum readiness more broadly.

Beyond providing visibility into the current state of preparedness, the Quantum Preparedness Index will help set measurable targets to accelerate adoption. It will serve as a catalyst to engage the industry with emerging quantum tech and ensure that Hong Kong stays ahead in financial innovation.

New Risk Data Strategy

The Hong Kong Fintech Promotion Blueprint underscores that well-managed, high-quality data is essential to reaching the full potential of AI, high-performance computing and distributed ledger technology.

In support of this, the HKMA has proposed the New Risk Data Strategy, an initiative which aims to build a collaborative program with industry stakeholders.

The idea behind the New Risk Data Strategy is to consolidate feedback and share best practices around data strategy and management. With access to more comprehensive and granular risk data, banks and regulators would be better positioned to carry out more in-depth and effective analysis across various risk domains.

Over time, the strategy is expected to enable more intelligent risk management and agile supervision.

As part of this effort, the HKMA plans to work closely with the industry to expand the scope of its Granular Data Reporting framework to cover a more comprehensive scope of supervisory data. This will be done by assessing local industry gaps and identifying foundational approaches for risk data strategy.

The HKMA will also engage selected participants to gain insights into their data strategies, needs, and challenges, covering structured and unstructured data.

The resulting best practices will be shared within the industry by the HKMA and aid in shaping a comprehensive roadmap of risk data strategy initiatives, incorporating feedback through consultation sessions.

Competency Development Support

The HKMA plans to build on existing talent research and ongoing industry engagement to gain clarity on current and emerging needs for AI and DLT skill requirements, as well as professional capability-building needs.

This will help clarify where capability gaps exist and guide efforts to develop the right professional skills, in tandem with evolving market expectations.

To complement existing competency frameworks, including programs under the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers’ Enhanced Competency Framework Fintech module, the Competency Development Support initiative will focus on providing practical, scalable tools to meet training and professional development needs.

The HKMA will explore ways to strengthen continuous learning support for fintech practitioners within financial institutions.

Emphasising human-machine interaction, support will be delivered via module training resources, peer-sharing platforms, or targeted guidance on skills progression. Potential collaborations will be assessed based on their feasibility, practical impact, and ability to enhance sector-wide readiness for AI or DLT adoption.

The overarching goal is to help build a more resilient, adaptable, and future-ready banking workforce.

Fintech Cybersecurity Baseline

Under this initiative, HKMA plans to “establish a standardised, industry-led Fintech Cybersecurity Baseline” curated for fintech solution providers.

The Fintech Cybersecurity Baseline will serve as a common assessment framework, enabling providers to demonstrate their technological capabilities, operational readiness, and compliance with supervisory expectation with the sector.

The goal behind this is to streamline the due diligence process for financial institutions when they assess and onboard fintech partners.

By setting clear and consistent cybersecurity benchmarks, especially around emerging tech risks linked to advanced fintech applications (like AI and Distributed Ledger Technology), the baseline aims to strengthen trust and resilience across the ecosystem.

The Fintech Cybersecurity Baseline initiative would also help alleviate potential misinterpretations of regulatory requirements by fintech solution provider as they develop their product and services, especially those new to financial institution partnerships.

Its development draws on leading international standards and regulatory approaches, as well as close engagement with industry stakeholders to zero in on practical challenges and gain a holistic perspective. Guidance materials will be provided to support fintech firms in aligning with the defined standards.

Ultimately, the Fintech Cybersecurity Baseline will provide fintech companies with greater clarity on what banks and regulators expect on security, reliability and safety when deploying new fintech solutions. This would, in turn, strengthen credibility while building trust with investors and partners, which is crucial.

Featured image edited by Fintech News Hong Kong based on image by Frolopiaton Palm on Freepik