HKIMFR—大湾区跨境支付和结算系统：现行实践与最新发展.pdf

Cross-boundary Payment and Settlement Systems in the Greater Bay AreaCurrent Practices and Recent DevelopmentsMarch 2023Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial ResearchHKIMR Applied Research Report No.1/2023PagesForeword2Acknowledgements3Executive Summary4Chapter 1Financial Integration in the Greater Bay Area(GBA)Hong Kong serves as a super-connector between the Mainland and international financial markets7Chapter 2Overview of Payment and Settlement SystemsCurrent status and challenges in international markets13Chapter 3Cross-boundary Payment and Settlement Linkages Between Hong Kong and the Rest of the GBAEmerging technologies provide opportunities to strengthen financial connectivity 22Chapter 4Views from Market Participants in Hong Kong Our survey reveals a sustained interest in the GBA despite the challenges34Chapter 5Reaping the Benefits of Financial Integration in the GBAConsiderations towards a closer financial integration 44Conclusions50Appendix A:Background of the GBA Survey52Appendix B:List of Abbreviations53Appendix C:Glossary of Technical Terms55Appendix D:References57ContentsThe GuangdongHong KongMacao Greater Bay Area(GBA)is composed of Hong Kong,Macao,and nine cities along the Pearl River Delta.With a population of more than 85 million and a combined gross domestic product of more than US$1.6 trillion,the GBA is economically vibrant and provides Hong Kongs financial services industry with an enormous potential to expand its businesses by taking advantage of the areas vast market and pilot liberalisation initiatives,such as the Wealth Management Connect scheme.To foster financial connectivity within the GBA,it is important to understand the financial services industrys current challenges,including those related to cross-boundary payment and settlement systems,and develop feasible solutions.Recently,emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain have prompted profound changes in the financial services industry.The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched a Fintech 2025 strategy,which aims to encourage the financial services industry to comprehensively adopt emerging technology by 2025 and to promote the provision of fair and efficient financial services for the benefit of Hong Kong.Some of these technologies could also reshape cross-boundary payment and settlement systems and promote financial development in the GBA.This report examines the current status of cross-boundary payments and settlements within the GBA and provides an overview of recent developments in Hong Kongs financial market infrastructure and in business opportunities in the GBA.Emerging financial technologies,including the Faster Payment System,Open Application Programming Interface for the banking sector,and digital identity,are highlighted as useful approaches for improving the efficiency and quality of cross-boundary payments and settlements.Multilateral arrangements such as the mBridge and various cross-boundary investment schemes are also emphasised as important channels to increase the connectivity of financial markets.This report also discusses the results of a survey and interviews commissioned by the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research(HKIMR),which investigates market participants current practices and shows that the majority of the surveyed financial institutions highlighted the essentiality of cross-boundary payment and settlement systems in supporting their GBA outreach activities.The report concludes with considerations for facilitating cross-boundary payments and settlements in the GBA in both technology and non-technology-related areas in the face of major challenges.By illustrating the importance of cross-boundary payment and settlement systems in the GBA and highlighting benefits and challenges shared by market participants and the implications of emerging technologies,we hope that this report provides useful insights that help the financial services industry and regulators in Hong Kong to further deepen financial integration in the GBA.Mr Kwok-Chuen KwokExecutive DirectorHong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial ResearchChief Executive OfficerHong Kong Academy of Finance2Cross-boundary Payment and Settlement Systems in the Greater Bay AreaForewordThis report has greatly benefitted from the contributions of various external collaborators.We thank the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau,the Insurance Authority,the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority,and the Securities and Futures Commission,and various departments and divisions of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority,including the External Department,the Financial Infrastructure Development Division,the Fintech Facilitation Office,the Hong Kong FMI Services Limited,and the Communications Division for their comments and suggestions.We are also grateful for our collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited in designing and administering a survey entitled Cross-boundary payments and settlements for a closer integration within the Greater Bay Area from July to October 2022,and in conducting interviews with various market participants,including banks,insurers,and asset managers.Finally,we thank the HKIMR Council of Advisers for Applied Research for their continued support for and guidance of the research activities of the Institute.3Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research March 2023AcknowledgementsExecutive SummaryThe GuangdongHong KongMacao Greater Bay Area(GBA)has been recognised for its strategic importance in supporting the growth and opening-up of the Mainland economy.Deepening financial integration within the GBA is essential for maximising the areas advantage in supporting the countrys further development,and such integration is contingent on the establishment of a set of well-functioning payment and settlement channels to facilitate trade and capital flow across the boundary.By taking stock of current developments in cross-boundary payments and settlements,we aim to identify their associated challenges and consider how these may be mitigated by emerging technologies.The report begins with an overview of the development of the GBA and various cross-boundary investment schemes,and explains why appropriate cross-boundary payment and settlement channels are key to financial integration in the area.It then offers a general introduction to payment and settlement systems,their linkages across boundaries,and associated challenges.It also describes Hong Kongs payment and settlement systems,their cross-boundary linkages,and how they can be supported by emerging financial technologies.Moreover,based on a survey and interviews commissioned by the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research(HKIMR),it presents local financial institutions views on the challenges of cross-boundary payments and settlements and how these challenges can be mitigated using technologies and related initiatives.The report concludes by offering some considerations for facilitating cross-boundary payments and settlements and deepening financial integration within the GBA.Benefitting from financial integration in the area,financial institutions in Hong Kong and the rest of the GBA have significant opportunities to expand their cross-boundary financial services,which needs the support of appropriate payment and settlement channels.The increasing popularity of cross-boundary investment schemes,such as Wealth Management Connect,Bond Connect,and Stock Connect,not only demonstrates the growing connectivity of Mainland and Hong Kong financial markets but also suggests there is rising demand for the establishment of efficient and secure channels that connect payment and settlement systems across the boundary.Payment and settlement systems are a collection of arrangements that facilitate the transfer of funds and financial assets.At the front end,payment systems handle the transfer of small-value funds among individuals and corporations.At the back end,settlement systems process the clearing and settlement of large-value payments among banks and other financial intermediaries.Payment and settlement systems from different jurisdictions are interconnected,which allows for financial transactions across boundaries.Commonly referred to as financial market infrastructure,these systems are crucial for maintaining the healthy functioning of the financial services industry,and their cross-boundary linkages are key to facilitating international trade and capital flow.International studies identify common challenges associated with the use of cross-border payment and settlement channels.The primary challenges are the high costs and low speed of transferring funds across borders,limited accessibility,and insufficient transparency about the status and outcome of fund transfers.These challenges may influence both service providers,4Cross-boundary Payment and Settlement Systems in the Greater Bay Areasuch as banks and asset managers,and end-users,such as individuals and corporations.Some of the root causes of these challenges are fragmented data and technology standards,legacy infrastructures,and long transaction chains.Hong Kong has developed a set of multi-currency and multi-dimensional payment and settlement systems that are connected with the financial market infrastructures of other GBA cities to support cross-boundary financial services.At the front end,financial service providers have implemented various retail payment methods within the GBA.For instance,a cross-boundary electronic bill payment service allows customers in Hong Kong to make bill payments to merchants in Guangdong.At the back end,cash settlement systems in Hong Kong,namely Clearing House Automatic Transfer Systems(CHATS),are linked with the rest of the GBA to settle cross-boundary remittances.These linkages guarantee the smooth exchange of goods and services across the boundary.Emerging technologies are being adopted to enhance Hong Kongs financial market infrastructure and strengthen financial integration within the GBA.These technologies include blockchain,artificial intelligence(AI)/Big Data(BD)technologies,digital identity technologies,electronic wallets,and data-sharing techniques.For example,blockchain can improve cross-boundary financial services by ensuring the accuracy and traceability of recorded data.E-wallets are a low-cost technology that increase the accessibility of cross-boundary payments,and some Hong Kong-based e-wallets can now be used for shopping and dining in Mainland GBA cities.Over 90%of surveyed financial institutions in Hong Kong highlighted the importance of cross-boundary payment and settlement channels to their GBA outreach activities.According to a survey commissioned by the HKIMR and conducted from July to October 2022,most of the surveyed banks,insurers,and asset managers intended to expand their involvement in cross-boundary investment schemes in the next 2 to 3 years.This demonstrates the essentiality of cross-boundary payment and settlement channels in supporting financial institutions outreach activities within the GBA going forward.The survey respondents reported experiencing various technology-and non-technology-related challenges when delivering cross-boundary financial services.On the technology side,the respondents noted that some cross-boundary financial transactions are still processed manually using traditional and paper-based methods,which reduces efficiency and increases the probability of errors.In addition,some respondents also mentioned that diverse standards in messaging formats and communication protocols,together with different data-sharing arrangements,prevent efficient and seamless cross-boundary information transmission.On the non-technology side,some of the respondents noted that different regulatory requirements have increased the complexity of their financial service offerings in the GBA.They also noted that risk management related to anti-money laundering(AML)/counter-financing of terrorism(CFT)checks in the cross-boundary context differed from those in the domestic context,and that there are bottlenecks related to limitations on cross-boundary investment quotas and remittances.5Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research March 2023Executive SummaryDigital ID,Open Application Programming Interface(API),and AI/BD technologies are the three most relevant technologies that the respondents identified as having the potential for improving payment and settlement processes in the GBA.The respondents remarked that the adoption of digital ID could improve the process of remote on-boarding and account opening by reducing the compliance costs of AML/CFT checks.The respondents also foresaw that Open API would facilitate the exchange of information and the execution of instructions for cross-boundary payments and settlements.Furthermore,they believed that AI/BD technologies had strong potential to address existing challenges,such as by streamlining compliance checks,detecting harmful activities,and improving risk management.By taking stock of market perspectives and the experience of other jurisdictions,this report offers several considerations for facilitating cross-boundary payments and settlements.These include technology-related strategies,such as improving the functionality of payment and settlement infrastructures,promoting the adoption of emerging technologies,and encouraging the implementation of data-sharing arrangements.Non-technology-related strategies include fostering communication between regulators and the industry and expanding the accessibility of financial services across the boundary.Going forward,these considerations may contribute to further deepening of financial integration within the GBA.6Cross-boundary Payment and Settlement Systems in the Greater Bay AreaExecutive SummaryChapter 1Financial Integration in the Greater Bay Area(GBA)Hong Kong serves as a super-connector between the Mainland and international financial marketsHIGHLIGHTS:Financial integration within the GBA provides the financial services industry with new investment opportunities.Through a series of cross-boundary investment schemes,Mainland financial markets are opening up gradually and prudently,while global investors can continue to operate within their familiar legal and regulatory frameworks,market practices,and languages.The rising popularity of these investment schemes suggests an increased demand for efficient and secure cross-boundary payments and settlement channels going forward.1.1.OVERVIEW OF THE GREATER BAY AREAThe Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area(GBA)is composed of the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao,and nine municipalities in Guangdong province(Guangzhou,Shenzhen,Zhuhai,Foshan,Huizhou,Dongguan,Zhongshan,Jiangmen,and Zhaoqing),as shown in Chart 1.1.The GBA has witnessed the reform and opening-up of the Mainland economy since the late 1970s and supported the strong