Q1. What is FPS?
A1. The Faster Payment System (FPS) is a financial infrastructure which connects banks and stored-value facilities (SVFs), enabling their customers to transfer Hong Kong dollar or Renminbi funds to different banks/SVFs in Hong Kong almost instantly on a round-the-clock basis.
In addition, all FPS participants (including banks and SVFs) can process the customers' funds transfer instructions through the FPS by batch. Transaction time is subject to the services provided by individual participants.
Q2. How do I send money using FPS?
A2. Banks and SVFs develop their own payment products and services riding on the FPS platform. Customers may make use of the payment services and products offered by their banks and SVFs to pay via FPS. For example, log on the mobile/internet banking or SVF payment app, and look for fund transfer function in the menu that displays the name or logo of FPS.
Q3. Who can use the service of instant payments supported by FPS?
A3. If a payer and a payee have accounts with any banks or SVFs that support FPS real-time payments, the fund transfer can be processed instantly via FPS.
Q4. Which banks and SVFs provide the service of FPS instant payments?
A4. Almost all retail banks and SVFs with e-wallets (see list) provide instant payment service via the FPS.
Q5. Are the FPS services offered by all FPS participants uniform?
A5. Banks and SVFs (participants) providing FPS-related services in general would support instant credit transfer payment, direct debit payment, addressing service and electronic direct debit authorisation. The specific scope, channel and interface in providing the services may vary among the FPS participants. Participants may also develop different FPS-related products and services subject to their business needs and operations. Please refer to your banks or SVFs for more details.
Q6. What are the operating hours of FPS? Can I use FPS over the weekends or holidays?
A6. FPS operates 24/7 throughout the year, including weekends and holidays. Please check with your bank or SVF about their service availability on weekends or holidays.
Q7. How much does it cost to make peer-to-peer transfer to another bank or SVF?
A7. Please contact your banks or SVFs for details on service charges.
Q8. Is it safe to use FPS to send funds?
A8. Yes. The FPS operators, banks and SVF licensees are all under the HKMA’s oversight. They are required to implement appropriate and adequate security measures for technology risk management and online payment services (e.g. introducing two-factor authentication and default transaction limit for funds transfer over a certain threshold) to ensure that the clearing and settlement system and various online payment services can operate safely and efficiently, so as to provide customers with appropriate protection.
Q9. Do I need to register with a bank or SVF to send or receive funds via FPS?
A9. You may register your mobile number or email address with a bank or SVF e-wallet, or request a bank or SVF e-wallet to generate an FPS ID for you, so that a payer may enter your mobile number, email address or FPS ID to send funds to you.
If you have not registered your mobile number, email address or FPS ID for using FPS, a payer has to enter your name, the name of your bank/SVF and the account number so as to send funds to you.
FPS does not require senders to register with the FPS. Nonetheless, participating banks or SVFs may ask their customers to register before they can use FPS to send payments. Please contact your bank or SVF for more details
Q10. What is FPS Identifier (FPS ID)? Can I request one?
A10. FPS ID is a string of numbers generated by the FPS system to link up with a bank or SVF account. Please note that each FPS ID is unique and can only be linked with one bank or SVF account. Individuals, merchants and corporates may request an FPS ID from their banks or SVFs depending on their FPS service scopes. Please refer to your banks or SVFs for more details.
Currently the FPS ID is a 7-digit number and the system has been designed to prepare for the issuance and the use of 9-digit FPS ID to meet the growing needs in future. In view of the increasing demand for FPS ID, the system has started generating 9-digit number FPS ID recently to cater for the needs. However, some banks and SVFs need to upgrade their systems to handle the 9-digit FPS ID. As such, the FPS operator has followed up with banks and SVFs immediately and coordinated their system upgrade.
Banks and SVFs will provide assistance to the affected customers, for instance, by providing a new 7-digit FPS ID to replace the 9-digit FPS ID. Customers may also use mobile number or email address as account proxy to receive payments. If customers have any problems in using the FPS ID to pay or receive payments, please contact your banks or SVFs for assistance.
Q11: How can I register mobile number for use in the FPS?
A11: You may register your mobile number through your mobile/internet banking or SVF payment app. Select an account to link up with the mobile number, and then the bank or the SVF would verify if you are holding the mobile number before processing your registration request. If you have any questions, please approach your bank or SVF for assistance.
You may also link up more than one bank or SVF with your mobile number. In that case, specify one of the banks/SVFs as the default account to receive funds. This means that the funds will be sent to your default receiving bank/SVF if the sender does not specify a particular bank/SVF.
There is no need to link up the mobile number or email address with all your bank or SVF accounts. Just register the one(s) based on your needs.
Q12: How do I know if the recipient has registered his/her mobile number or email address so that I can use his/her mobile number or email address for payment?
A12: If you make a payment to a recipient using his/her mobile number or email address which has not been registered, the payment will be rejected.
Q13: How can I remove an account from FPS registration?
A13: You may make amendments through the mobile/internet banking or SVF payment app of any banks/SVFs that you have linked up the mobile number, email address or FPS ID with. Notification will be sent to you after any changes have been made in the registration.
Q14. What is the use of HKID number as an FPS proxy?
A14. This function will only be used by institutions which already possess your HKID number for making payment. It is not intended for making person-to-person payments.
After you register your HKID number as an FPS account proxy and agree to its usage by institutions for making payment via FPS, you will no longer need to provide your bank account number to receive their payments. Even if you change your bank account in the future, you do not need to notify them. It is easy and convenient.
Q15. What are the advantages of receiving payments through HKID number? Why should I register?
A15. An HKID number is a unique and permanent identifier for an individual. Therefore, after linking up your HKID number to a bank account, you could conveniently receive payments through your HKID number. This is more efficient as compared to receiving payments by cheques and you don’t need to provide your bank account number anymore. It also ensures that the payment can be accurately deposited into your bank account. You can link up your HKID number to your bank account depending on your needs.
Q16. How do I register?
A16. The registration process is very simple. You can register your HKID number as an FPS account proxy through your online/mobile banking, then link it up with one bank account for receiving payments. The whole process is similar to registering your mobile number or email address. However, an HKID number can only be linked up to one sole-name bank account (joint bank account is not allowed), whereas your mobile number and email address can be linked up to more than one bank/SVF account. If you wish to change your linked bank account in the future, you need to register again. The new registration will supersede the existing record.
Q17. Which banks support the registration of HKID number as an FPS proxy?
A17. All banks that support the registration of mobile number and email address as an FPS proxy also support the registration of HKID number.
Q18. Can I link up my HKID number to a joint account? Can I link it up to more than one bank account?
A18. No you cannot. You can only link up your HKID number to one bank account held solely by you for receiving payments.
Q19: What personal information would be provided to the FPS?
A19: A user when registering the mobile number through a bank or SVF with the FPS should agree to provide information on his/her name, mobile number and name of bank or SVF to the FPS. The bank or SVF should have the identity of the user and the mobile number verified before registering the mobile number for their customers with the FPS. In making a payment, a sender may see the masked name and the bank or SVF (in case it is not a default bank or SVF) so as to check the payment information before confirming the payment.
No information on bank or SVF account numbers or any other personal information will be registered with the FPS. Such information will be maintained by corresponding banks and SVFs only.
Q20. If my bank or SVF does not provide instant payment service, can I still send or receive funds through my bank using FPS?
A20. In case your bank does not support instant payment, you may still send or receive funds through your bank though it would take a longer time (a few hours or until the next business day) for the transfer to be completed.
Q21. Can I transfer money from banks to SVFs or vice versa?
A21. Yes if both the payer and payee institutions support FPS payments. You may transfer money from a bank account to an SVF or from an SVF to a bank account. You may also transfer funds between SVFs.
Q22. How can I be sure the account I am sending to accepts payments via FPS?
A22. All banks in Hong Kong can receive funds transferred via the FPS, but not all of them would be able to receive funds for their customers instantly. See the list of retail banks and SVFs with e-wallets which can process instant payment via the FPS.
Q23. What is the maximum transaction limit for using FPS?
A23. Banks and SVFs have defined different thresholds for various types of payment or transfers based on their business models and risk control management. Please contact your banks or SVFs for more details.
Q24: How do I know if the payment is successful?
A24: Your bank/SVF will inform you if the payment goes through successfully. Please approach your banks/SVFs for more information, including the record of payment.
Q25. Can I transfer money to overseas account?
A25. FPS supports the FPS x PromptPay QR Payment through which travellers from Hong Kong and Thailand are able to make retail payments to merchants in Thailand or Hong Kong by using their mobile payment apps to scan the Thai PromptPay QR Code or FPS QR code respectively. Please visit www.hkicl.com.hk/eng/fps/consumers/fps_x_promptpay_qr_payment.php for the more information on FPS x PromptPay QR Payment.
Q26. How to prevent mistakes when sending a payment?
A26. Users should verify the payment details, including the payee’s name and the amount, before sending a payment – both when the details are given to you and when you use the details to make the payment.
Q27. I am trying to recover a payment I sent to the wrong account. What should I do?
A27. Inform your bank/SVF as soon as possible if you are not able to contact the recipient directly to request return of the money. Your bank/SVF will provide assistance as appropriate.
Q28. If a payment has been made via FPS through my bank/SVF account but the payee does not receive the payment, what should I do?
Q28. Please check if the details of your payment instructions are correct, and if so, a payer may contact his/her bank/SVF to enquire about the transaction status and obtain the FPS reference number so as to provide it to the payee bank/SVF to follow up. However, if unfortunately, the transfer was made to a wrong mobile number or email address, please contact your bank/SVF for assistance on arranging refund.
Furthermore, if the transfer was not made to a specific bank/SVF, you can suggest the payee to double check which bank/SVF is the default receiving entity and then check whether the funds was transferred to the account of that bank/SVF. The payee can login to his/her mobile/internet banking or e-wallet to check the FPS registration settings on the accounts registered and locate the record with 'default' specified. This is against the background that a mobile number may be linked to more than one bank/e-wallet for receiving funds, and thus the customer would have to specify one of the banks/e-wallets as the default account for receiving funds from a payer who does not specify a particular payee bank/e-wallet.
Q29. How to establish direct debit instructions to top up my SVF e-wallet?
A29. Please follow the instructions as set out in individual SVF payment apps. You may be required to provide information on your identity and bank account to be debited for top-up purpose.
Q30. Is it safe to set up direct debit authorisation?
A30. Banks and SVFs would ensure that they protect the privacy of your personal data by complying with the relevant laws, rules and operating procedures.
Q31. What if the account is debited for a wrong amount?
A31. Inform your bank as soon as possible if you are not able to contact the recipient directly to request return of the money.
Q32. How can I cancel direct debit authorisation?
A32. Please contact your bank to cancel a direct debit authorization.
Q33. Can someone else set up a direct debit to debit my account?
A33. No, only you or a person authorized by you can set up a direct debit to debit your account. You may submit your authorisation to your bank directly or through the beneficiary facing FPS Participant.
Q34: Is there any limit to direct debit instructions?
A34. Customers may set limits in their direct debit authorizations to different parties. Please contact your banks or SVFs for more details.
Q35. How can I scan QR code to make payments?
A35. You may use the scanner function provided in your mobile banking or SVF payment app to scan the QR code of the payee to make payments. You can make payment via FPS using QR code to users of FPS participating institutions supporting QR code payments.
Q36. How can I present a QR code for receiving payments?
A36. You can use your mobile banking or SVF payment app to generate the QR code if your bank/SVF supports QR code payments through the FPS.
Q37. Is it safe to scan a QR code to pay?
A37. Customers should verify the payment details, including the payee’s name and the amount, displayed on the mobile app or payment app before confirming a payment.
Q38. What information does a QR code contain? Will my personal data be at risk?
A38. A payee-presented QR code embeds information of the payee’s registered FPS proxy ID (i.e. mobile number, email address or FPS ID) and the name of the receiving bank/SVF. Some QR codes also contain information of the payment amount. The payer only needs to scan the QR code provided by the payee with his/her mobile banking or e-wallet app to transfer funds or settle a payment in a simple, quick and accurate manner. Nonetheless, a third party may scan the QR code to obtain the embedded information. Payees should show the QR code to others only when necessary.
Q39. Do I need to register with the FPS before I can pay Government bills through FPS?
A39. No registration is needed. You only need to enable the QR code scanner of your mobile banking app or e-wallet, which supports Government bill payments through FPS QR code, and then use it to scan the FPS QR code printed on the Government bills to make payment.
Q40. Which banks or e-wallets support Government FPS QR code bill payments?
Q41. Are there any charges to pay Government bills via FPS QR code?
A41. No, it is free of charge.
Q42. How do I confirm if I have settled the bill successfully?
A42. You may check the transaction history of your bank or e-wallet. Where needed, you may contact the relevant Government departments for assistance.
Q43. What is the function of the FPS App-to-App (ATA)/Web-to-App (WTA) ?
A43. ATA/WTA is a payment function of the FPS. When a customer access a merchant app or webpage supporting this function via his/her mobile phone and select FPS when making payment, the banking apps or e-wallets supporting this function in the customer’s mobile phone will be invoked automatically for making payment to the merchant via the FPS.
Q44. Can customers choose to pay with this function?
A44. Yes. Customers can choose different payment means based on their needs.
Q45. What are the benefits for customers in using this function?
A45. Customers may use this function to make payments via FPS through their mobile phone 24x7, anytime and anywhere. There is no need to input payment details during the process. Customers do not need to save the QR code in advance so as to scan it during payment, or scan the QR code with another mobile phone. It is simple, fast and convenient. In addition, customers are not required to provide their credit card information.
Q46. Are there any charges for using this function?
Q47. After I have selected the FPS for payment, why am I not able to choose some of the banking apps or e-wallets which support the FPS in my mobile phone to pay?
A47. Only banking apps or e-wallets that support this function will be shown for customers to choose for making payment. You may contact your banks or SVFs for details.
Q48. Apart from retail purchase payments, are there any other use cases for this function?
A48. Some government departments or public bodies have adopted this function to allow the general public to pay rental of public housing and shops, fees at public hospitals and parking meters, etc. via the FPS.
Q49. Do I need to register with the FPS before I can make payment to Thailand merchants through FPS?
A49. You do not need to register with the FPS in order to use this service. You may use mobile payment apps provided by participating banks/SVFs which support this service to scan the PromptPay QR code presented by Thai merchants to make real time payments. Please visit www.hkicl.com.hk/eng/fps/consumers/fps_x_promptpay_qr_payment.php for the list of banks and SVFs in Hong Kong supporting the FPS x PromptPay QR Payment.
Q50. Which banks or SVFs in Hong Kong support FPS x PromptPay QR Payment?
Q51. Are there any charges for Hong Kong travellers to make payments to Thailand merchants via PromptPay QR Code?
A51. Hong Kong people using the FPS x PromptPay QR Payment service can use their mobile banking or e-wallet app provided by banks/SVFs supporting this service to scan PromptPay QR codes of local merchants in Thailand. The relevant exchange rate and the equivalent amount in HKD will be displayed for customer reference. The exchange rate for the transaction will be determined based on the prevailing exchange rate at that time and any administrative fees that the bank or SVF may charge. Please check with individual participating banks or SVFs for details.
Q52. Is there any payment limit per day or per transaction for FPS x PromptPay QR Payment?
A52. Each account holder may pay up to a maximum HK$10,000 each day via FPS x PromptPay QR Payment. Subject to the service provided by participating banks and SVFs, customers may lower the limit if needed. Please check with individual participating banks or SVFs for details.
Q53. Can Hong Kong travellers make FPS payments at all merchants in Thailand that accept PromptPay?
A53. Most merchants that accept PromptPay can be paid via the FPS.
Q54. Why I cannot pay by FPS by scanning the PromptPay QR code?
A54. This linkage only supports payments to merchants of participating banks in Thailand (See the list of participating banks in Thailand). If you encounter an error stating that the QR code is invalid, it may be because the merchant's bank is not participating in this service and the QR code does not belong to a PromptPay merchant. For example, if there are some people generating a PromptPay QR code for payments to their personal bank account, the transaction will not be processed.
Q55. Is this new cross-border payment link secure?
A55. Yes. Messages and instructions are transmitted between FPS and PromptPay via private network which is implemented with stringent network communication security standards to ensure that the cross-border payment is conducted in a safe and secure environment. The participating institutions in both regions are regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Bank of Thailand, respectively. Participating banks and SVFs in Hong Kong are required to implement appropriate and sufficient security measures for technology risk management and online payment services (such as two-factor authentication and transaction limits) to ensure the secure and efficient operation of settlement and clearing systems, providing adequate protection for customers. Having said that, customers are advised to verify the displayed payment details before confirming the payment for each transaction.
Q57. Do all banks support e-CNY wallet top-up with the FPS?
Q58. Is the top-up of e-CNY wallets limited to renminbi (RMB) only?
Q59. Is there any handling charge for topping up e-CNY wallets via the FPS?
A59. Please contact the relevant banks for information.
Q60. Is there any limit to topping up e-CNY wallets via the FPS?
A60. The FPS does not have a top-up limit. However, e-CNY wallet operating institutions will set limits for e-CNY wallet top-up according to their risk management. For details, please contact the relevant e-CNY wallet operating institutions or their Hong Kong subsidiaries.
Q61. Do I need to log in to the mobile banking during the process of topping up e-CNY wallets via the FPS?
A61. After choosing the bank for topping up the e-CNY wallet, the page will automatically switch to the mobile banking app of the selected bank. The user has to log in to the mobile banking so as to choose the account for withdrawing funds to top-up.
Q62. What should I do if there are issues during the process of topping up with the FPS?
A62. Please contact your e-CNY operating institution’s subsidiary in Hong Kong or the bank you selected for FPS top-up for assistance.
Q63. Can users withdraw the balance from e-CNY wallets via the FPS?
A63. Currently, the FPS can only be used for topping up e-CNY wallets and does not support any other functions.
Users in Hong Kong can visit the designated branches of their e-CNY wallet operating institutions with valid identification documents to redeem cash from the balance of their e-CNY wallets. For details, please contact the relevant e-CNY wallet operating institutions or their Hong Kong subsidiary.
