Organised by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), the API EcoBooster (the Programme), a first-of-its-kind programme in collaboration with a British multinational investment bank and financial services holding company, has resulted in close to 30 Hong Kong and overseas start-ups and technology ventures showcasing their innovative open banking solutions at the Demo Day.
To drive smart banking innovation in Hong Kong, the Programme, launched in mid-July, has provided start-ups and the developer community with the opportunity and resources to co-create a range of solutions in the areas of transactions and operations, loans, credit card, digital payments or customer records management for commercial and retail banking sectors in Hong Kong.
These shortlisted companies from Hong Kong and overseas markets like the UK and France were provided with mentorship and coaching from the bank’s digital banking specialists during the six-week programme. HKSTP’s technology partner, an API development company, offered dynamic support from technical clinics to sandboxes for the innovators to conduct trials by making use of more than 100 banking APIs and mock data from the bank.
The Demo Day featured a fireside chat titled “Driving Innovation in Open Banking” with HKSTP and representatives from the bank, who shared the challenges and opportunities arising from the API developments. It was followed by a series of pitch presentations from the 28 teams about their respective innovations, as well as on-and-offline one-on-one demonstration on site.
The Chief Corporate Development Officer of HKSTP stated that the success of API EcoBooster highlights the enormous opportunities for both start-ups and established enterprises to jointly pilot various ideas and solutions in a fast and risk-free environment.
As Hong Kong and the world embrace the new normal, the transformative power of innovation becomes even more apparent and effective. Open APIs propel us towards an era of rapid evolutions within the Fintech ecosystem and as an international financial centre, Hong Kong is at the forefront in driving such adoptions.
HKSTP is a tale of more than 1,000 technology companies, as well as the stories of over 9,000 R&D entrepreneurs, who are driving Hong Kong’s innovation using their various platforms and infrastructure. HKSTP strives to continue to unlock new opportunities for innovators and business partners and aims to cement Hong Kong as a global centre of Fintech innovation.
The Head of Commercial Banking at the Hong Kong arm of the bank stated that the financial institution and HKSTP have forged strong partnerships to support the innovation and technology ecosystem for years. Committed to driving digital banking innovation for our customers, the bank’s leadership is thrilled to see the enthusiastic response and inspiring submissions to this meaningful programme.
This new level of crossover between banks and tech ventures has opened up many new possibilities. This paves the way for more co-creation to bring continuous breakthroughs to the financial services industry, making banking more accessible to customers in the long term.
According to the HKMA, the formulation of the Open API Framework was one of the seven initiatives announced by the HKMA in September 2017 to prepare Hong Kong to move into a new era of Smart Banking. Following a public consultation, the HKMA published the Open API Framework for the Hong Kong Banking Sector on 18 July 2018.
The Framework takes a risk-based principle and a four-phase approach to implement various Open API functions, and recommends prevailing international technical and security standards to ensure fast and safe adoption. It also lays out detailed expectations on how banks should onboard and maintain a relationship with TSPs in a manner that ensures consumer protection. The HKMA believes that the Framework will serve as an important guide for the banking industry in Hong Kong to adopt APIs effectively and strike a good balance between innovation and risks.
