Hong Kong: FPS to Link With UnionPay, Opening QR Payments in 40+ Overseas Markets
Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System, the city’s instant bank-and-wallet transfer network, is set to work with UnionPay International so that its users can scan QR codes to pay at more than 100 million merchants. The link covers Hong Kong, mainland China and over 40 overseas markets, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) expects it to launch in phases before the end of the year.
Key facts
- The Faster Payment System (FPS) will connect with UnionPay International, enabling QR-code payments at more than 100 million merchants in Hong Kong, the mainland and more than 40 overseas markets.
- HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said the service is expected to roll out in phases before the end of 2026.
- FPS has more than 22 million registrations in a city of about 7.5 million people, and it handles Hong Kong dollar payments averaging HK$16.2 billion a day, according to Mr Chan.
- FPS is already linked with the mainland and with Thailand.
- The plans were outlined on 2 November at Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK 2026 by Financial Secretary Paul Chan and Mr Yue.
What is changing
FPS was launched by the HKMA, the city’s de facto central bank, to let people move money instantly between banks and stored-value wallets using a phone number, email address or QR code. Until now its reach abroad has been limited to two corridors: the mainland, and Thailand through a link with PromptPay, the Thai national instant payment scheme.
The UnionPay tie-up would widen that reach sharply. Instead of building one bilateral link at a time, FPS would plug into UnionPay International’s existing merchant network, so a Hong Kong user could pay by scanning a QR code abroad through a service they already use. Mr Yue said the aim is to give residents more choice for spending at home and when they travel. Mr Chan added that businesses would also find it easier to accept cross-border payments.
Officials have not yet said which markets or banks will go first, or what fees and exchange rates users will see. Those details are likely to come with each phase of the rollout.
Why it matters
Hong Kong residents travel often, and today paying abroad usually means using a card or a separate e-wallet. Routing those payments through FPS could make the city’s own account-based rail a practical travel wallet, competing with cards and with the cross-border wallet networks that already operate in Asia.
Mr Chan framed the move as part of a wider push to cut the cost of moving money. He cited a World Bank survey showing that sending US$200 cost about 4.6% through digital remittance services, against 7.3% through non-digital channels, and said better infrastructure can help close that gap.
The announcement also fits the HKMA’s “DART” fintech agenda, which covers data and payments, artificial intelligence, resilience and tokenisation. Under the same plan, Project Ensemble, the HKMA’s tokenisation project, is moving to a new phase in which banks can settle tokenised deposits around the clock, including for cross-border payments. The HKMA also said it will explore accepting regulated stablecoins for payments.
For the wider region, the deal shows a different model from the bank-to-bank QR links that ASEAN central banks have been building. Hong Kong is using a single partnership with a global card and QR network to reach dozens of markets quickly, while keeping its direct link with Thailand.
What to watch
- Which overseas markets and participating banks or wallets are included in the first phase before year-end.
- The fees, exchange rates and spending limits that apply when FPS users pay abroad.
- Whether the HKMA adds more direct FPS links with other national instant payment systems alongside the UnionPay route.
Related on FinDeskAsia: ASEAN cross-border QR payments and how Malaysia’s DuitNow works.
Sources: The Standard, November 2026; Hong Kong Government, speech by the Financial Secretary, November 2026; AASTOCKS, November 2026; The Standard (HKMA DART framework), November 2026.
