The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released a white paper on the banking sector's preparedness for the quantum era and published its quantum preparedness index for the first time. The results showed that the local banking sector as a whole scored only 2.3 points, indicating that most institutions are still in the early stages of risk identification and awareness building.
This white paper is based on an industry survey conducted earlier this year and was released at the 8th FiNETech conference. The survey showed that the banking industry is increasingly concerned about the risks of quantum computing, but few institutions have actually entered the planning, testing, and deployment phases.
Most banks are still in their initial stages.
Approximately 68% of the surveyed banks are aware of quantum risks or have entered early stages such as planning or pilot programs, while the remaining institutions have not yet started related work. About half of the banks have not yet developed a formal plan for migrating to post-quantum cryptography systems.
Meanwhile, although about half of the banks have discussed the issue at the board level, only about one-third have actually begun exploring or testing quantum-related technologies. According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the industry as a whole is still mainly in the "foundational" stage.
Banks and blockchain face similar risks
Quantum computing has attracted the attention of financial regulators because existing financial systems rely heavily on encryption technologies to protect transactions, communications, and data security. Once large-scale practical quantum computers become available, some existing cryptographic systems may face the risk of being broken.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) mentioned the "collect first, decrypt later" risk, meaning that attackers could save encrypted data now and decrypt it later when quantum hardware matures. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has also previously listed this issue as a risk that the financial system needs to address as soon as possible.
This issue doesn't only affect banks. Blockchain networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, are also built on modern cryptography and therefore face similar long-term security challenges. While there are currently no practical quantum computers capable of large-scale cracking of banking systems or mainstream blockchains, some predictions suggest that the risks may become more realistic as early as around 2029.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority sets 2030 targets.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) plans to raise its Quantum Readiness Index to 10 by 2030. To this end, the HKMA is collaborating with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School to develop a post-quantum cryptography toolkit and is helping banks improve their cryptographic migration capabilities and technical readiness through workshops and skills training.
The report states that this pace of progress aligns with international regulatory trends. US President Trump recently signed two executive orders, one requiring the acceleration of quantum computing development in the US, and the other requiring the federal government to complete its migration to post-quantum cryptography systems between 2030 and 2031.
