Hong Kong Monetary Authority Launches SAGE Agentic Finance Project and Forms Expert Group

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched the SAGE project to support the responsible development and use of agentic finance in Hong Kong and established an expert group on the topic. According to ChainCatcher, SAGE stands for Securing Agentic Finance with Governance and Enablement, and its expert group includes members from financial institutions, technology service providers, professional services firms and academia. The project will explore use cases including agentic shopping and everyday payments, business procurement and treasury management, and machine-to-machine payments for digital services. It will also examine methods to verify AI agents’ identities and authorization, including “Know Your Agent” and authentication mechanisms; discuss interoperability standards and protocols; and consider governance, legal liability, regulation and consumer protection. HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said agentic finance could reshape how financial services are provided and used. He said the authority aims to promote innovation while strengthening Hong Kong’s position in next-generation financial technology and ensuring agentic finance serves users’ interests and supports financial stability.