The Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau and the Monetary Authority are seeking views on a proposal to enhance the regulatory regime for stored value facilities and retail payment systems in Hong Kong.
The Banking Ordinance currently contains a regulatory regime for multi-purpose stored value cards to regulate device-based stored value products.
The authority’s Deputy Chief Executive Peter Pang said in light of the growing acceptance of innovative retail payment products and services, it is necessary to expand the current regulatory regime to cover stored value facilities which are non-device based, including mobile network-based accounts and computer network-based accounts, and important retail payment systems.
The Government intends to amend the Clearing & Settlement Systems Ordinance to cater for the proposed new regulatory regime. The major components include a licensing regime for stored value facilities, and requirements on stored value facilities float protection.
They also include a designation regime for retail payment systems, which empower the authority to designate important retail payment systems to be subject to its oversight. Others include powers of the authority to perform on-going supervision of stored value facilities licensees and oversight of designated retail payment systems, and offences, sanctions, and appeals under the proposed regulatory regime.
The existing regulatory regime under the Banking Ordinance for multi-purpose stored value cards will be migrated to the amended Clearing & Settlement Systems Ordinance.
The consultation paper can be downloaded from the bureau’s
website and the authority’s
website. People can submit views by
email by August 22.
