HKMA and PBoC launched Payment Connect on June 22, 2025, linking Hong Kong's Faster Payment System (FPS) with Mainland China's Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS). Six institutions from each side participated at launch, enabling real-time cross-boundary remittances in both RMB and HKD.
Scope
The service supports personal transfers for salary, tuition, and medical payments - covering the most common cross-boundary payment needs between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area cities. Settlement is in real time, replacing slower traditional remittance channels that could take hours or days.
Infrastructure Significance
This is the first real-time retail payment link between Hong Kong and Mainland China, connecting two of Asia's most developed payment ecosystems. The link operates at the central bank infrastructure level, providing settlement finality that private payment apps (Alipay HK, WeChat Pay HK) cannot match.
What This Means
For payments professionals, Payment Connect creates a new real-time settlement rail for one of the world's highest-volume cross-boundary corridors. The dual-currency capability (RMB and HKD) in a single link is operationally efficient and could serve as a template for other cross-boundary FPS links in the region.
Sources: HKMA, The Paypers