“HSBC has launched a metaverse gallery that offers an immersive online experience where art meets technology, aiming to inspire the Hong Kong public to embrace art and culture. Following in the footsteps of the partnership with M+ to contribute to Hong Kong’s arts and culture development, the bank is inviting the public to explore the digital world by launching a metaverse gallery. Available from 7 December, the virtual platform showcases digital artworks from local artists, including Yeung Hok Tak, Wong Ping and Flying Pig to broaden the reach of the artwork in various forms to connect to a more diverse audience. Customers can create and customise their avatars with different hairstyles, outfits and accessories. Furthermore, virtual sharing by artists, as well as a special fireside chat with speakers will be launched, to allow customers not just to view, but to become fully open to art through engaging and actively participating in these unique art experiences. HSBC said it will continue to build more real-world and metaverse-focused brand collaborations in the near future to open art, culture and, ultimately, a world of opportunity to customers.”

“Business consolidation and more regulations are inevitable as buy-now-pay-later platforms’ business surges in tandem with cyber crimes, risk analysts said. Such platforms that allow consumers to split bills into interest-free installments are becoming popular in Hong Kong. The surge in crimes came with scammers often creating accounts with fake or stolen identities, said Stephen Topliss, vice president of fraud and identity at Atlanta-based antifraud technology provider LexisNexis Risk Solutions who conducts data analysis for buy-now-pay-later providers. “Fraudsters are coming back with regrouping their [scamming] techniques, making the whole scam more complicated, which will be hard for providers to be alerted,” Topliss told The Standard. According to police figures for January to August, the SAR saw a total of 5,148 cases involving more than HK$37 million related to online shopping.”

“Appealing to Hong Kong consumers’ aspiration for diversified and flexible payment options, Ant Bank (Hong Kong) (“Ant Bank”) and AlipayHK jointly announced today the launch of Ant Bank PayLater on AlipayHK ahead of the Double 11 and Christmas shopping sprees. Ant Bank PayLater, which is currently in its trial period allows users to choose to pay in installments when shopping with AlipayHK’s robust network of partner merchants and on Taobao. AlipayHK and Ant Bank hope that this partnership, which brings together Ant Group’s flagship techfin products, will help stimulate the local retail business and the city’s economy.”

“A collaboration between the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute has produced a prototype of Hong Kong’s upcoming digital currency, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) announced. Project Aurum is a full-stack, front-end and back-end, central bank digital currency (CBDC) system comprising a wholesale interbank system and a retail e-wallet system, the international financial institution explained in a press release this week. Participants in Aurum want to launch two different types of digital tokens. The first kind will be an intermediated digital currency while the second one will be a CBDC-backed stablecoin circulated in the interbank system.”

“Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS) has surpassed 700,000 transactions a day just over three years after its debut, showcasing one of the ways the city is seeking to innovate as a financial technology hub, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po . Speaking at the 2021 Hong Kong FinTech Week conference, Chan said the electronic system for immediate fund transfers and retail payments averaged 740,000 transactions per day worth HK$5.2 billion (US$668 million) at the end of September. Average daily transaction volumes have more than doubled from HK$2.4 billion in early 2020.”