EPS · Easy Pay SystemHong Kong's domestic point-of-sale debit scheme, which debits the account directly through the ATM card. It predates international debit in the market by a decade and is still everywhere in physical retail. The same operator runs PPS.EPS Company (Hong Kong) Limited (consortium of Hong Kong banks) · since 1985
Global registry · Asia-Pacific · East Asia
Hong Kong Payment systems
24 systems listed.
CurrencyHong Kong dollar (HKD)
Domestic schemeEPS
RegulatorHong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)
Leading payment methods
CardsOctopus / AlipayHK / WeChat Pay HKFPS (A2A)Cash
E-commerce shares
Cards · 50%Wallets · 35%Account-to-account · 8%Other · 7%
Octopus. The contactless transit card launched in 1997, a global pioneer of prepaid payments: still used daily on public transport and in convenience stores and canteens, alongside AlipayHK and the FPS instant rail.
Octopus cards in circulation>20M
FPS registrations>13M (2024, HKMA)
A crossroads market between Western standards (international cards) and the Chinese ecosystem (QR wallets): both worlds coexist at every checkout.
Learn about this market. The guides and courses that cover it.
Payments in Oceania and CanadaPayments in Central AsiaPayments in South Asia outside IndiaPayments in Southeast AsiaPayments in Japan and KoreaPayments in Malaysia and SingaporeAccepting payments in Australia and New ZealandAccepting payments in Indonesia and ThailandAccepting payments in Japan and South KoreaAccepting payments in Southeast AsiaPayments in Asia: super-apps, public rails, and cross-border QROpening a new market: the payments playbook
Card schemes
Instant payments
Faster Payment System / 轉數快 (FPS)24/7 instant credit transfers in HKD AND CNY, addressed by phone number, email, or FPS ID, with a QR code common to all participants. A major distinguishing feature: e-money issuers (AlipayHK, WeChat Pay HK, PayMe, Octopus) participate on the same footing as banks, which effectively linked up Hong Kong’s wallets. Fraud cases within weeks of the fall 2018 launch led the HKMA to temporarily suspend automatic wallet top-ups, a useful precedent for any instant payment launch.Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited (HKICL) (under the auspices of the HKMA) · since 2018
Clearing and settlement
Cheque Clearing and e-Cheque (Hong Kong)Hong Kong still makes significant use of checks, especially in corporate and real estate transactions, and has rolled out an e-Cheque with a “Drop Box” rather than abolishing checks, the opposite of Japan’s approach.HKICL · since 1997
PPS · Payment by Phone Service (繳費靈)Shared bill payment service, first by phone and then online and by app, using a PPS ID separate from the bank account. Hong Kong’s long-standing bill payment rail, still used by government agencies and utilities.EPS Company (Hong Kong) Limited · since 1995
Wallets
AlipayHKA Hong Kong wallet separate from mainland Alipay, settled in HKD and holding a stored value facility (SVF) license from the HKMA. It is accepted on the MTR, buses, and ferries, and serves as a bridge for Hong Kong residents paying in mainland China.Alipay Payment Services (HK) Limited, a joint venture of Ant Group and CK Hutchison · since 2017passed 2 million users between 2020 and 2021 (AlipayHK); no recent cross-checked figure
BoC PayA bank wallet designed for cross-border use in the Greater Bay Area: a Hong Kong resident pays a mainland merchant over the UnionPay QR network, with HKD/CNY conversion. A key use case for Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao integration.Bank of China (Hong Kong) · since 2018
PayMeBank-launched P2P wallet that became Hong Kong’s social standard for splitting bills, including among customers of other banks. A rare example worldwide of a bank wallet winning the P2P battle before a public rail (FPS) arrived.The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) · since 2017
WeChat Pay HKHong Kong counterpart of WeChat Pay, operating under a local SVF license, settling in HKD, and participating in FPS. Like AlipayHK, it can be used across the border in mainland China.TenPay Payment Technology Co. (HK), Tencent group · since 2016
Tap & Go (拍住賞)Prepaid wallet from a Hong Kong telecom operator, relying on the Mastercard and UnionPay networks for acceptance. We checked: the service has NOT been discontinued. The SVF license is still on the HKMA register (revision of July 22, 2026), and the service is still marketed, tied to the group’s loyalty program. Any internal note describing it as shut down in 2024 should be corrected.HKT Payment Limited (HKT group company holding stored value facility license SVF0002, issued by the HKMA on August 25, 2016)
Cross-border rails
Project mBridgePilotMulti-CBDC platform for cross-border settlement in central bank money. It reached the minimum viable product stage in 2024, and the participating central banks have carried it forward since the BIS withdrew. It is the world’s most advanced cross-border CBDC project, and it is steered from Hong Kong and Beijing.Consortium of central banks: HKMA, PBoC (Digital Currency Research Institute), Bank of Thailand, Central Bank of the UAE, Saudi Central Bank; the BIS Innovation Hub has withdrawn from the project · since 2021
RMB CHATSThe world’s largest offshore renminbi (CNH) clearing system. Most CNH liquidity flows through it, and it is connected to CIPS. Not to be confused with CIPS: RMB CHATS settles in Hong Kong, while CIPS links the onshore and offshore markets.HKICL; clearing bank: Bank of China (Hong Kong) · since 2007
XTransferA private collection and settlement rail for Chinese export SMBs: multicurrency accounts, local accounts, FX, and settlement. It stands in for traditional correspondent banking, which became out of reach for this segment after AML/CFT rules tightened. On China’s cross-border side, stopping at CIPS and Alipay+ misses the entire merchant layer.XTransfer Limited (based in Hong Kong, with operations in mainland China; specializes in B2B trade payments)more than 800,000 corporate clients, local accounts in about 60 countries and territories, and a presence in more than 200 markets; claims the No. 1 spot worldwide in cross-border B2B payments by volume for January–December 2025 (XTransfer, 2026)
LuLu ExchangeA Gulf exchange house structured as a multi-country group and present at both ends of the Gulf–South Asia corridor: sending in the Middle East, payout in India and Southeast Asia. A model halfway between a traditional exchange bureau and a digital remittance operator.LuLu Financial Holdings (Abu Dhabi-based group operating in the Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, and Asia-Pacific under the LuLu Exchange, LuLu Forex, LuLu Money, and LuLu Financial Services brands)Networks reported by the group: 34 branches in Oman, 27 in India (LuLu Forex), 6 in the Philippines, and 5 in Hong Kong (LuLu Financial Holdings, official website, accessed August 2026)
Central bank digital currency
Project EnsemblePilotThe HKMA’s sandbox for tokenized deposits and interbank settlement in wholesale central bank money. Announced in March 2024, the sandbox opened in August 2024, and a real-value phase launched in November 2025. Not to be confused with e-HKD/e-HKD+, which targets retail: Ensemble covers wholesale settlement and commercial banks’ tokenized deposit layer.Hong Kong Monetary Authority (a project and sandbox led by Hong Kong’s de facto central bank, working with banks and market infrastructures) · since 2024
e-HKDPilotRetail digital Hong Kong dollar pilot, run in waves with local banks: HSBC tested circulation on public blockchains, and the second phase broadened the scope to tokenized deposits with asset managers. Not to be confused with Project Ensemble, which covers the wholesale side of the same Hong Kong program.Hong Kong Monetary Authority (retail CBDC pilot program, extended by a second phase (e-HKD+) broadened to tokenized deposits; no decision to issue has been made)
Stablecoins
FDUSD (First Digital USD)Stablecoin backed by a Hong Kong entity and used heavily as a trading pair on Binance after BUSD was shut down. Its market capitalization is very volatile because it depends on activity at a single platform, which shows that a trading stablecoin is not a payment rail.First Digital Labs / FD121 · since 2023Market capitalization of about $349.1 million (CoinGecko, accessed late July 2026)
Other
CHATS (Clearing House Automated Transfer System)Hong Kong’s multicurrency RTGS (HKD, USD, EUR, CNY), an unusual setup that makes Hong Kong an offshore renminbi settlement center.HKICL · since 1996
CMU · Central Moneymarkets UnitDepository and securities settlement system for Hong Kong and offshore debt securities, linked to CHATS for DvP. It became central with Bond Connect and the HKMA’s tokenized bond issues.Hong Kong Monetary Authority / CMU OmniClear Limited (The HKMA still owns the CMU and retains the contractual relationships with participants, as well as authority over policy and strategy. Since January 2025, operations and business development have been handled by CMU OmniClear Limited, incorporated on October 18, 2024. Its parent, CMU OmniClear Holdings Limited, is 80% owned by the Exchange Fund and 20% by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which took its stake on November 12, 2025.) · since 1990
EUR CHATSSame model as USD CHATS, applied to the euro in the Asian time zone. Volumes are small, but its existence matters for regional PvP.HKICL; settlement institution: Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) · since 2003
HKD CHATS (Clearing House Automated Transfer System)The Hong Kong dollar RTGS and the foundation of Hong Kong’s distinctive model, in which a single infrastructure runs RTGS systems in several currencies.Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited (HKICL) (joint venture of the HKMA and the Hong Kong Association of Banks; settlement institution: HKMA) · since 1996
JETCO (銀通)Interbank ATM network covering Hong Kong AND Macau, one of the region’s few truly cross-border systems. It does not include HSBC and Hang Seng, which run their own ETC network, so a Hong Kong cardholder is in one camp or the other. JETCO also operates JETCO Pay and the APIX open API platform.Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited (founded by Bank of China (Hong Kong branch) and four other institutions) · since 1982~3,000 ATMs and 34 member banks (JETCO/Wikipedia, reference year not given)
Octopus (八達通)The global benchmark for multipurpose contactless cards: the world’s first at scale (1997), since extended far beyond transit. Recent developments worth knowing: Smart Octopus on Samsung Pay (2017), Apple Pay (2020), Huawei Pay (2020), and Google Wallet (2024); a “China T-union” version launched in March 2024 for public transit in 336 cities in mainland China; “Octopus for Tourists”; and the Octopus wallet (formerly O! ePay), which participates in FPS.Octopus Cards Limited (owned by transport operators, including MTR) · since 1997Operator figures: more than 24 million Octopus cards and products in circulation, 15 million transactions a day worth about HK$300 million, 98% penetration in Hong Kong, and more than 190,000 acceptance points (Octopus Cards Limited, octopus.com.hk, accessed 2026). The widely quoted figures of 33 million cards and 99% of residents date from 2018 and are no longer what the operator publishes.
USD CHATSA US dollar RTGS based OUTSIDE the US, with a commercial bank as settlement institution. It enables intra-Asian PvP (notably with Malaysia and Indonesia through regional links) without relying on Fedwire’s operating hours, which is rare worldwide.HKICL; settlement institution: HSBC · since 2000
Stablecoins Ordinance (Cap. 656)Hong Kong’s licensing regime for issuers of fiat-referenced stablecoins, in force since August 1, 2025: reserve and redemption requirements, governance, AML/CFT, and criminal penalties. It also covers issuance outside Hong Kong whenever the token references the Hong Kong dollar, an extraterritorial reach that any issuer must check before launching in the region.Hong Kong Monetary Authority (the authority that licenses and supervises issuers, under an ordinance passed on May 21, 2025) · since 202577 expressions of interest received by the HKMA as of August 31, 2025, with no license granted before Q1 2026 (HKMA, 2025–2026)