GLOBAL PAYMENTS KNOWLEDGEISO 20022 / SWIFT / SEPA / MT / MX
PAYMENTSSIGNAL

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Hong Kong FPS — the Faster Payment System

Riya sends HKD 600.00 to Arjun at night using only his mobile number. The Faster Payment System resolves that proxy to his account, moves the money almost immediately, and settles the interbank leg on the HKMA book.

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Contributor Shubham Mathure

STEP 1 / 5MESSAGE

Riya pays using Arjun's mobile number

Riya (payer) → Bank Alfa (sending bank) · FPS payment instruction

Riya asks Bank Alfa to send HKD 600.00 to Arjun using his mobile number or FPS ID — a proxy address. She never has to know or type his account number, and FPS runs around the clock, so this works at night.

Step 1 of 5: Riya pays using Arjun's mobile number

  1. 01Message
    Riya pays using Arjun's mobile numberRiya (payer) → Bank Alfa (sending bank) · FPS payment instruction
  2. 02Message
    FPS resolves the proxy to Arjun's accountBank Alfa (sending bank) → FPS / HKICL · FPS addressing lookup
  3. 03Posting
    Bank Alfa debits RiyaBank Alfa (sending bank)
  4. 04Posting
    Nordbank credits Arjun almost immediatelyNordbank (receiving bank) → Arjun (payee)
  5. 05Settlement
    The interbank leg settles on the HKMA bookHKMA / CHATS (settlement) → Nordbank (receiving bank)
MESSAGECLEARING OBLIGATIONSETTLEMENTPOSTING
Full step-by-step text (works without JavaScript)
  1. 01Message
    Riya pays using Arjun's mobile numberRiya (payer) → Bank Alfa (sending bank) · FPS payment instruction

    Riya asks Bank Alfa to send HKD 600.00 to Arjun using his mobile number or FPS ID — a proxy address. She never has to know or type his account number, and FPS runs around the clock, so this works at night.

  2. 02Message
    FPS resolves the proxy to Arjun's accountBank Alfa (sending bank) → FPS / HKICL · FPS addressing lookup

    The Faster Payment System looks up the mobile number or FPS ID in its addressing directory and finds it points to Arjun's account at Nordbank. Only the mapping travels here — this message carries no money.

  3. 03Posting
    Bank Alfa debits RiyaBank Alfa (sending bank)

    Now that the destination is known, Bank Alfa books a debit against Riya's account on its own ledger for the amount she is sending.

    • DR Riya's account at Bank Alfa — HKD 600.00
  4. 04Posting
    Nordbank credits Arjun almost immediatelyNordbank (receiving bank) → Arjun (payee)

    The payment routes through FPS to Nordbank, which credits Arjun's account almost at once. Arjun can spend the money straight away — he does not have to wait for the banks to settle between themselves.

    • CR Arjun's account at Nordbank — HKD 600.00
  5. 05Settlement
    The interbank leg settles on the HKMA bookHKMA / CHATS (settlement) → Nordbank (receiving bank)

    Arjun already has the money, but the two banks still owe each other. HKD FPS is designated as part of HKD CHATS, so the interbank amount settles in central bank money on the HKMA settlement book.

    FPS settlement rides on the CHATS / HKMA book: the HKMA provides the settlement book for HKD FPS, which is designated as part of HKD CHATS.

    • DR Bank Alfa position on the HKMA book — HKD 600.00
    • CR Nordbank position on the HKMA book — HKD 600.00

What this simplifies: This diagram shows one HKD payment through a single sending and receiving bank; the real FPS message set, e-wallet participants, RMB flows, and exact CHATS settlement timing are left out.

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Sources for this flow2
  1. Official requirement

    CHATS and the Faster Payment System (FPS) ↗ — Hong Kong Monetary Authority

    Describes Hong Kong CHATS (Clearing House Automated Transfer System, the RTGS operated by Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited under the HKMA, settling every transaction individually and gross in central bank money for HKD, USD, RMB and EUR) and the Faster Payment System (FPS, launched 17 September 2018, 24x7, addressed by mobile number or email, funds available almost immediately, settled on the HKMA book as part of HKD/RMB CHATS). · Checked 2026-07-14

    FPS is designated as part of HKD CHATS and RMB CHATS; the HKMA provides the settlement book for HKD FPS.

  2. Simplified educational illustration

    Payments Signal editorial teaching models — Payments Signal

    This site's own simplified teaching models. · Checked 2026-07-12

    What this simplifies: One sending bank, one receiving bank, and a single settlement book; the exact FPS message set, addressing-directory mechanics, and RMB support are omitted.

    Used wherever diagrams, scenarios, figures, or example values are didactic constructions rather than sourced facts; every such use carries a simplifications disclosure. All people, companies, banks, and list entries in examples are fictional.