HKMA and Consumer Council jointly launch virtual reality simulation games
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
To strengthen self-protection capabilities of students with special educational needs and senior citizens, the Consumer Council and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have joined hands in launching a series of new virtual reality (VR) simulation games designed to foster proper attitude towards consumption with the use of credit cards, while raising the participant's awareness of fraud prevention through a gamified learning experience.
The VR simulation games feature two key themes: "Be a Smart Credit Card User", covering basic knowledge of credit card usage and concepts of rational consumption, and "Beware of Credit Card Fraud", simulating the scenarios of fraudsters using phishing links and fraudulent calls purporting to be from bank staff. Through the four simulated scenarios (see Annex (Chinese only)) – "Credit card ABC", "Responsible use of credit cards", "Beware of phishing links", and "Beware of fraudulent calls" – the games offer an immersive and interactive experience with vivid decision-making prompts, real-life role play, and simple yet entertaining mini-games with over a hundred interactive options, equipping persons with special needs and senior citizens with the knowledge and skill to use credit cards responsibly and identify scams. Participants can use the VR headsets and handheld controllers for an immersive first-person experience.
The Council and the HKMA recently organised an event at Fortress Hill Methodist Secondary School for students to try out the games for the first time. The Chief Executive of the Consumer Council, Ms Gilly Wong,said, "Consumers with special needs and some senior consumers often have limited knowledge of credit cards. The Council is delighted to collaborate with the HKMA in developing this innovative VR simulation game, allowing them to experience overspending and fraud scenarios firsthand while learning how to respond accordingly. Since credit cards serve both as a payment tool and a loan instrument, it is crucial for consumers to establish proper values and knowledge about responsible usage early on. This VR game will be distributed to social welfare organisations and special schools across Hong Kong, to be used in consumer education workshops and activities for promoting responsible credit card usage and fraud prevention."
Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA Mr Arthur Yuen,said, "Credit card payments are a common means of transaction, yet they are often exploited by fraudsters as a tool for deception. Members of the public who are not vigilant may fall into the trap of scams. We hope to use interactive games to convey the messages on the proper use of credit cards, as well as the importance of guarding against credit card scams in a simple and vivid way, thereby assisting members of the public to use credit cards with peace of mind and enhancing their awareness of anti-scam measures."
The HKMA launched the Anti-Scam Consumer Protection Charter 2.0 (the Charter 2.0) in collaboration with the Hong Kong Association of Banks last year, to assist the public in guarding against credit card scams and other digital frauds. The Council remains committed to consumer education and safeguarding consumer rights. As a supporting organisation of the Charter 2.0, it will continue to enhance public awareness of fraud prevention and self-protection ability.
Since late 2020, the Council has been running the Support Programme for Persons with Special Needs, aimed at promoting consumer education among persons with special needs, including those with autism spectrum disorder, mild intellectual disability, and common mental disorder, in identifying unscrupulous trade practices and scams. The Programme provides a range of educational resources for frontline social workers, teachers and caregivers, including training handbooks, game cards, case study videos and posters, and easy-to-read guides. In 2023, the Programme also piloted its first VR educational tool focusing on the unscrupulous sales tactics of beauty and fitness centres. To date, the Programme has organised more than 180 consumer education sessions for over 4 600 participants from 80 social welfare organisations, self-help groups and special schools.
A desktop version of the credit card VR simulation games is also available. Members of the public may visit the websites of the Consumer Counciland the HKMAfor relevant information.
HKMA and Consumer Council jointly launch virtual reality simulation games Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
HKMA and Consumer Council jointly launch virtual reality simulation games Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
HKMA and Consumer Council jointly launch virtual reality simulation games Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Speech by FS at CUHK EMBA Annual Conference
Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the CUHK EMBA Annual Conference today (May 9):
Professor Dennis Lo (Vice-Chancellor and President, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)), Professor Lin Zhou (Dean, CUHK Business School), Macy (Chairperson of Organizing Committee, Ms Macy Chan), Michael (Chairperson of Organizing Committee, Mr Michael Chan), CUHK EMBA alumni and students, business leaders, distinguished guests and friends,
Good evening.
Addressing a room full of Executive MBA students and graduates is both an honour and a privilege. There is a particular kind of ambition in this room — one that is not content with success alone, but driven to understand it more deeply, in the belief that better ideas lead to greater impact.
That kind of commitment — to learning, to growth, to asking harder questions — is precisely what today's conversation is about.
The theme of this conference, which focuses on innovation and agile leadership, could not be more timely. Most of us here have lived through the Internet age and the smartphone revolution, which made communication faster and more seamless than anyone had imagined.
Today, the rise of AI places us at a more fundamental tipping point. Technology is not merely changing the answers — it is redefining the questions themselves.
Consider what is already within reach. An AI assistant can learn your preferences, curate a personalised shortlist, and simply ask for your confirmation. We should even ask whether the smartphone and the search engine will remain our primary gateways to the digital world, or whether something altogether new is already taking shape.
To draw an analogy, the power of technology does not lie in drawing the old map with greater precision. It lies in revealing how much of that map remains uncharted — and in showing us that entirely new maps, with new co-ordinates, are being drawn.
This redefinition is unfolding across three dimensions simultaneously.
First, the redefinition of products. Products are no longer discrete, standalone objects. A smart car is a vehicle, but also a mobile platform for data. An insurance policy can be a contract, but equally a dynamic reflection of health data. Innovation today is born from cross-sector convergence and continuous evolution.
Second, the redefinition of services. Services are no longer delivered solely by enterprises. They emerge from collaborative networks of people and AI. But the more profound shift is in what customers now expect. In the past, good service meant reaching the right person quickly. Today, customers expect a solution that anticipates their needs before articulating them. This requires a new architecture of service delivery: human and machine, with AI handling the scale, the speed, and the personalisation that no human team alone could sustain.
Third, and most importantly, the redefinition of business models. In the past, we sought optimal solutions within established frameworks — when demand rose, we expanded capacity; when service needs grew, we opened more branches. Technology invites us to break out of those frameworks entirely. Intelligent manufacturing means that "economies of scale" is no longer the only answer; flexible supply chains have made customised, on-demand production the new normal.
These three redefinitions are opening a commercial frontier unlike anything we have seen before. But if the benefits of technology accrue only to a small circle, its power remains fundamentally constrained. This brings me to the second message I want to leave with you today: inclusivity.
Inclusivity is not charity. Yet it is the smartest business strategy available. The unmet needs of the broader public represent the largest and most underserved market opportunity in existence. When you make quality healthcare, education and financial services accessible and affordable to ordinary residents, you are not serving a group in need of handouts — you are unlocking a vast market that traditional business models have consistently overlooked.
Hong Kong has a distinctive role to play here. We can be a co-architect of standards, a hub for capital, and a bridge between innovation and real-world deployment — from clinical validation of smart healthcare, to green technology financing, to regulatory sandboxes for fintech. Our contribution draws not only on institutional strengths and international networks, but on our genuine commitment to broad-based participation.
Yet inclusive products and services are only the first step. The deeper dimension is empowerment.
History reminds us that the dividends of technological revolution need to be actively guided to reach the many. In the age of steam, and again in the Internet era, early gains concentrated among capital owners and top-tier talent. But today we have the opportunity to write a different story. AI, as an amplifier of human capability, is already enabling what was previously unimaginable: a solo entrepreneur, with the right tools and the right vision, can build a unicorn.
In other words, the unit of competitive advantage is shifting — from the size of your team to the skill with which you orchestrate your tools.
Our mission should be to make that shift available to everyone. To turn individual readiness into collective prosperity, and to ensure that the productivity gains of AI flow broadly across the society.
This is precisely why, in this year's Budget, I placed such emphasis on the "AI Training for All" initiative.
We are not trying to turn everyone into an engineer. We are ensuring that workers, managers, SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) owners, and ordinary residents become capable collaborators with AI: people who can access it, use it effectively, and put it to work as their assistant.
That may sound ambitious, but consider this: if AI can one day be as intuitive as the smartphone, then mass adoption is not difficult to imagine at all. Just as computers once migrated from specialist facilities into offices and homes, AI will find its way into everyone's daily work and life.
For business leaders, it may be tempting to think of AI as "digital employee" that can replace existing workers. But think of a different framing: equipping your workforce with powerful digital assistants can achieve productivity gains, while also freeing your people to do what humans do best — create, imagine and innovate.
Companies that take those extra steps, and think those extra moves ahead, will find that an empowered workforce is also a more innovative one.
All in all, the power of technology must ultimately be measured by its contribution to inclusive growth. And inclusive growth, in the end, depends on, yes, commercial acumen — but also empathy, compassion, and the conviction that a rising tide should lift all boats. I can see that those qualities live in this room.
I will close with this thought. Someone once joked that economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing. With AI, let us never fall into the same trap — in our race to price every efficiency gain, let us not lose sight of the deeper value we are trying to create: a society where the fruits of innovation are broadly shared, and where technology lifts not just the fortunate few, but everyone willing to reach for it.
So here is my ask: let us grow the pie together. And make sure we cut it well.
Thank you very much.
Source: AI-found images
Speech by FS at CUHK EMBA Annual Conference Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Speech by FS at CUHK EMBA Annual Conference Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Source: AI-found images
