HKMA Project SAGE Launches to Govern Agentic Finance and Enable 24/7 Tokenised Settlements

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched Project SAGE on 2 November 2026 to establish governance for agentic finance, where AI agents execute payments, treasury tasks and procurement on behalf of users and firms. The initiative runs alongside expanded trials of Ensemble TX for 24/7 settlement of tokenised deposits using central bank money.

Project SAGE Focus Areas and Expert Group

Project SAGE covers four work streams. The first examines market use cases across consumer payments, business procurement and machine-to-machine service billing. The second develops agent identity standards through Know Your Agent procedures that verify delegated authority and authentication. The third sets interoperability requirements across platforms. The fourth addresses liability, consumer protection and regulatory frameworks.

The HKMA formed a cross-sector Agentic Finance Expert Group that includes banks, technology providers, law firms and universities. A concurrent discussion paper seeks industry views on governance models, responsibility allocation and a possible central register of verified agents. These steps align with the authority’s Fintech 2030 strategy and its DART framework covering data, AI, resilience and tokenisation.

HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said the project aims to support innovation while protecting users and maintaining financial stability. The authority expects the work to position Hong Kong as a test bed for next-generation financial services that rely on autonomous agents rather than manual instructions.

Ensemble TX Expands Tokenised Settlement Trials

At the same time the HKMA reported progress on Ensemble TX, the pilot phase of Project Ensemble that began in November 2025. Twelve banks and twenty industry participants now test real-value interbank transfers of tokenised deposits around the clock using tokenised central bank money. The system supports corporate treasury management and tokenised money market fund transactions.

Recognised dealers have completed trials of secondary-market trades in tokenised Exchange Fund Bills, which improve liquidity and repo efficiency. Next steps include regulated stablecoins. The 24/7 capability removes the settlement delays that still affect traditional systems and reduces operational risk for high-frequency treasury and payment flows.

Readers managing corporate liquidity or building agent-driven payment products can review the HKMA discussion paper for early guidance on expected compliance requirements. Firms exploring agent identity solutions may benefit from monitoring the Expert Group outputs scheduled for 2027.

Practical Steps for Financial Institutions and Technology Providers

Banks and fintech developers should map existing AI tools against the four SAGE work streams to identify gaps in identity verification and liability allocation. Participation in the public consultation closes in early 2027, offering a direct route to shape final standards. Technology vendors can prepare KYA modules that integrate with existing KYC platforms already used for corporate clients.

Compared with earlier HKMA tokenisation pilots that focused on wholesale bonds, Ensemble TX now includes retail-scale payment use cases. The combination of agent governance rules and always-on settlement infrastructure gives Hong Kong a concrete test environment for products that combine autonomous decision-making with instant finality.