Hong Kong Central Bank Launches AML RegTech Platform

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the territory’s central bank and financial markets regulator, has launched an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Regtech Lab (AMLab) on Friday. This will further enhance the adoption of regtech platforms and this will accomplish the regulator’s ‘Fintech 2025’ strategy.

The initiative was launched in collaboration with local technology provider Cyberport and is also supported by Deloitte, one of the big-four accounting firms.

The regtech product is targeted towards banks that address the risks of fraud-related mule accounts using Network Analytics. They can also enhance data and information sharing through public-private partnerships.

“AMLab will strengthen banks’ capabilities to protect customers from fraud and financial crime losses, reduce risk displacement across the banking sector and raise the overall effectiveness of the AML ecosystem,” the regulator explained.

Curbing Money Laundering

At first, a group of five banks will participate in the program and will work towards enhancing the new system’s capabilities. 

They will use synthetic data to identify money mules, integrate alternative data into traditional datasets, and will work in the development of further capabilities for the application of network capabilities in identifying money laundering risks.

“AMLab series will provide a collaborative platform for ongoing peer group sharing of operational, hands-on experience of Regtech approaches, focusing on solutions such as machine learning in transaction monitoring process, low/no code workflow automation solutions, in addition to network analytics,” the central bank added.

Meanwhile, the HKMA is also exploring the idea of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and recently published a technical whitepaper for a digital Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD) that can be used in both domestic and cross-border markets.