Hong Kong's HKMA launched Project SAGE to support agentic finance and formed an expert group to examine governance, identity and standards.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched Project SAGE to support the responsible development and adoption of agentic finance in Hong Kong, as the regulator moves to formalise governance around AI systems that can act on users' behalf in financial services.

In a press release dated 2 November 2026, the HKMA said Project SAGE stands for “Securing Agentic Finance with Governance and Enablement.” The authority said the initiative is intended to enable practical applications of agentic finance while ensuring that a governance framework is in place. It added that, as agentic AI technologies mature, the financial industry is moving beyond internal adoption to explore how AI agents may make financial services more efficient and secure.

The HKMA said Project SAGE will focus on four areas: market development and use-case exploration; agent identity; interoperability standards; and legal and regulatory frameworks. Under market development, the authority said potential applications include business-to-consumer uses such as agentic commerce and everyday payments, business-to-business use cases such as procurement and treasury management, and machine-to-machine payments for digital services. On identity, the HKMA said it will explore approaches to verifying AI agents' identities and delegated authority, including Know Your Agent practices and authentication mechanisms. On standards, it will facilitate discussion of interoperability-related protocols to support secure and seamless interactions across the ecosystem. On regulation, it said it will exchange views on governance arrangements, liability and consumer protection.

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