Fintech Supervisory Sandbox Pilot Conditions for Banks and Tech Firms
Learn about the HKMA's Fintech Supervisory Sandbox (FSS), which lets banks and tech firms pilot fintech initiatives with limited customers.
Overview of the Fintech Supervisory Sandbox
The Fintech Supervisory Sandbox (FSS) was launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in September 2016. It allows banks and their partnering technology firms (tech firms) to conduct pilot trials of their fintech initiatives involving a limited number of participating customers. Under the sandbox, these pilots can proceed without the need to achieve full compliance with the HKMA’s supervisory requirements.
Eligibility and Conditions
The FSS is available to fintech and other technology initiatives intended to be launched in Hong Kong by banks. However, the sandbox should not be used as a means to bypass applicable supervisory requirements. The HKMA has not laid down an exhaustive list of the supervisory requirements that may potentially be relaxed within the FSS environment.
FSS 3.0 and Funding Support
In addition to the pilot trial function, FSS 3.0 facilitates eligible trial projects of research and development (R&D) to apply for a maximum of HK$1 million funding support under the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC)‘s Public Sector Trial Scheme (PSTS).
Qualifying Pilot Projects
To qualify, a project must have a bank in Hong Kong as a project sponsor. This condition applies to qualifying FSS 3.1 Pilot projects.