What is it?

  • The Pilot Scheme on Training Subsidy for Fintech Practitioners was announced by the Financial Secretary in the 2022-23 Budget, with the objective of promoting the professional development of fintech talent and expanding the fintech talent pool in Hong Kong.

  • The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is commissioned by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) to implement the Scheme for the banking sector, with assistance from The Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB).

  • Supported by initial funding of about HK$38 million, the Scheme will offer training subsidies of up to 80% of the training costs to around 1,500 industry practitioners who have attained eligible fintech professional qualifications under the HKMA's Enhanced Competency Framework on Fintech (ECF-Fintech) for banking practitioners, which is the first batch of fintech professional qualifications recognised under the Government's Qualifications Framework.

 

  Who is it for?

The Scheme targets fintech practitioners who are:

  • Hong Kong residents;

  • employees of Authorized Institutions (AIs) licensed by the HKMA; and

  • holders of one of six eligible ECF-Fintech professional qualifications (see the table below) after having

    • completed a relevant training programme

    • passed the examinations

    • acquired relevant work experience

 

     Six Eligible ECF-Fintech Professional Qualifications:

Core Level (applicable to entry/junior-level practitioners)

  1. Associate Fintech Professional (CPFinT(A))

Professional Level (applicable to middle/senior-level practitioners)

  1. Certified Fintech Professional (Management) (CPFinT(M))

  2. Certified Fintech Professional (Specialist - Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Stream) (CPFinT(S-AIBD))

  3. Certified Fintech Professional (Specialist - Distributed Ledger Technology Stream) (CPFinT(S-DLT))

  4. Certified Fintech Professional (Specialist - Open Banking and Application Programming Interface Stream) (CPFinT(S-OBAPI))

  5. Certified Fintech Professional (Specialist - Regtech Stream) (CPFinT(S-RT))

 

 

 How to apply

 

  • Eligible practitioners are not required to submit the application.

  • The application should be submitted by the eligible practitioner's employer, which is an AI.

  • The AI must have fully sponsored the eligible practitioner to complete the required training and examinations, and then submit its application to the HKIB within three months after the employee concerned has attained the relevant professional qualification.

  • If all the application criteria are met, the AI can receive reimbursement of 80% of the training costs (i.e. the tuition fee and first-time examination fee) for each eligible professional qualification, subject to a cap of HK$25,000.

  • The HKIB will aim to disburse the training subsidy to the successful applicant within eight weeks from the receipt of the application, provided the application contains complete and accurate information and supporting documents.

 

Please read the Application Guidelines and FAQs before submitting the application

 

  Related Information

 

  • HKMA Guide to ECF-Fintech

  • 2022-23 Budget Speech

  • Press Releases 

    26 Sep 2022 HKMA announces implementation details of Pilot Scheme on Training Subsidy for Fintech Practitioners

     

    10 Aug 2022 SFST visits Cyberport and announces new round of proof-of-concept subsidy scheme as well as training scheme for fintech practitioners (with photos)

 

  Enquiry

 

Email: fintechsubsidy@hkib.org

Telephone: (852) 2153 7800

 

 Administrator

   

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