Monetary Authority to develop faster payment system

It aims to provide banks with a system to provide real-time credit transfer.

The Monetary Authority plans to develop a faster payment system which will facilitate real-time payment services and peer-to-peer fund transfers, according to a government press release.

The system, which will enable banks and stored value facility operators to provide real-time credit transfer and direct debit services, is slated to be launched in September.

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury James Lau said that the Monetary Authority is aiming to promote a wider adoption of the QR code payment system as electronic payments
account for an estimated 60% of total private consumption expenditure.

"To promote wider adoption of mobile retail payments as well as provide greater convenience to both merchants and customers, the Monetary Authority and the industry have established a working group on common QR code standard for retail payments,” Lau told legislators in January 10.

He added that the working group will explore how merchants will be able to use a single QR code to accept different payments from various stored value facilities.

Photo from Alan Mak - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0