The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), in collaboration with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), announced the launch of the IADS Developer Hackathon and held the Kick-off Ceremony, marking the beginning of a journey to foster tech breakthroughs and advancements for the Interbank Account Data Sharing (IADS) initiative, and transform banking services via customer-consented data sharing.
The IADS Developer Hackathon, which is organised by the HKSTP, is now scheduled to run from October 2025 to March of next year.
It brings together the banking industry as well as fintech companies from around the world in order to collaborate and create secure, customer-consented solutions, leveraging the IADS to enable digital transformation in Hong Kong’s fast-evolving banking ecosystem.
Participants are to focus on developing practical use cases for retail, corporate and SME customer segments, with mentorship that will be provided by banking industry professionals.
Finalists will be invited to showcase their solutions at the IADS Developer Conference in March 2026, and winning teams may also “have the opportunity to access business expansion support, investor engagement platforms, brand exposure, and future pitching opportunities through HKSTP, and other partner organisations, to promote the market and development of their solutions.”
As mentioned in the announcement shared by the HKMA, the IADS initiative is formulated by the HKMA and launched with support of the banking industry.
The IADS initiative has reportedly established rules and standards that aim to facilitate interbank customer-consented data sharing.
This enables customers to securely share bank account data from one participating bank to other participating banking institutions, while being subject to customer consent.
Account data sharing can help digitalise banking operations, “strengthen risk management of banks, and enhance customer experience.”
Nelson Chow, Executive Director (Financial Infrastructure) of the HKMA,
“The IADS Developer Hackathon represents an … opportunity for the financial and technology sectors to converge and drive innovation in IADS.”
Eric Or, Acting Chief Corporate Development Officer of the HKSTP, said,
“The IADS Developer Hackathon … will help catalyze innovation, providing valuable opportunities for startups to exchange and collaborate with the industry, and propelling Hong Kong’s position as a hub for financial technology and innovation.”