‘Faster and safer’: Hong Kong to allow resale home payments through direct bank transfers

South China Morning PostEN 2 min read 100% complete by Peggy YeFebruary 5, 2026 at 12:46 PM

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Hong Kong will allow direct bank transfers for most resale home payments starting February 28, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. This expanded Payment Arrangements for Property Transactions (PAPT) scheme aims to provide a faster and safer alternative to cheque-based payments for buyers and sellers. Instead of routing funds through lawyers, mortgage loan proceeds can be transferred electronically from the buyer's bank directly to the seller's bank via the interbank payment system. The HKMA stated that sellers could receive funds as early as the completion date with no additional fees. Officials said the expansion would cover close to 90 per cent of resale residential transactions.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang 60% Hong Kong Association of Banks 70% Law Society of Hong Kong 70% Estate Agents Authority 70% Hong Kong ×280% Hong Kong Monetary Authority ×490%

Keywords

direct bank transfers 90% property transactions 90% resale home payments 80% hong kong monetary authority 70% interbank payment system 60% payment arrangements 50% mortgage loan 50% property market 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.30

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Source

South China Morning Post

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Hong Kong

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis.

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direct bank transfers property transactions resale home payments hong kong monetary authority interbank payment system payment arrangements mortgage loan property market

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