Daily Fintech / Payments Brief

Daily Fintech / Payments Brief — 2026-09-22 — https://fintech-digest-prd.pages.dev/2026-09-22/index.html 1. Saudi central bank has reportedly withdrawn from the mBridge cross-border CBDC platform after completing a planned proof of concept. - Why it matters: Saudi Arabia’s exit suggests major central banks may still treat multi-CBDC cross-border rails as experimental, which could slow confidence in scaling alternative settlement infrastructure. - HKMA Relevance: Direct: The story centers on mBridge, a cross-border CBDC project involving the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and other central banks, making it directly relevant to HKMA’s payments and monetary innovation agenda. - 👉 Full details: https://fintech-digest-prd.pages.dev/2026-09-22/1-saudi-central-bank-has-reportedly-withdrawn-from-the-mbridge.html 2. Eurosystem launches Pontes for tokenised central bank money settlement; ECB starts preparing tokenised bond investments - Why it matters: This gives euro-area tokenised securities markets a live central-bank-money settlement rail and signals official-sector willingness to use it, which could help institutional issuance and trading move from pilots toward production. - HKMA Relevance: Direct: This is a central-bank-led wholesale tokenisation and settlement initiative by the ECB, directly relevant to the HKMA’s comparable work on CBDC, tokenisation and payment-market infrastructure. - 👉 Full details: https://fintech-digest-prd.pages.dev/2026-09-22/2-eurosystem-launches-pontes-for-tokenised-central-bank-money.html 3. Partior and LSEG DiSH partner on always-on settlement liquidity for cross-border payments - Why it matters: The partnership points to a practical attempt to reduce cross-border settlement friction by giving participating banks more continuous access to liquidity outside legacy operating windows. - HKMA Relevance: Direct: This concerns tokenised commercial bank money, interbank settlement and cross-border payments infrastructure, all of which sit squarely within the HKMA’s policy and market-infrastructure remit. - 👉 Full details: https://fintech-digest-prd.pages.dev/2026-09-22/3-partior-and-lseg-dish-partner-on-always-on-settlement-liquid.html 4. Brazil’s CVM is preparing a simulated DLT pilot for tokenized securities, with board approval still pending. - Why it matters: This signals that Brazil is moving from tokenization discussion to regulator-led market testing, which could shape how tokenized securities are issued, traded and settled under future rules. - HKMA Relevance: Direct: This is a securities-regulator-led tokenization regime experiment by another public authority, a category of market-infrastructure and regulatory work that is directly relevant to the HKMA’s own agenda on tokenisation and digital market development. - 👉 Full details: https://fintech-digest-prd.pages.dev/2026-09-22/4-brazils-cvm-is-preparing-a-simulated-dlt-pilot-for-tokenized.html 5. WSJ report says ECB’s Lagarde intervened against Binance’s Greek MiCA bid - Why it matters: The story suggests that even where a central bank lacks formal licensing power, senior policymaker pressure can still shape market access for major crypto firms in Europe. - HKMA Relevance: Direct: This concerns reported intervention by the European Central Bank on crypto licensing under MiCA, making it directly relevant to HKMA thinking on central-bank oversight of digital-asset and payments risks. - 👉 Full details: https://fintech-digest-prd.pages.dev/2026-09-22/5-wsj-report-says-ecbs-lagarde-intervened-against-binances-gre.html