2026 Applications Open
Hong Kong – March 2, 2026 – The FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific, powered by Accenture in collaboration with Hong Kong Cyberport, is now accepting applications for its 2026 cohort. The program’s latest edition highlights innovation across AI transformation, digital trust, RegTech automation, next–generation payments, and insurance modernization — core forces redefining how banking, markets and insurance converge across the region.
A prestigious global accelerator, the Lab connects promising fintech start-ups with senior executives from the world’s leading financial institutions, offering an unparalleled platform to co‑create solutions tailored for Asia-Pacific’s diverse and fast‑evolving markets. Through deep mentorship and hands‑on collaboration, participating companies refine their technologies to meet real industry needs. This year’s themes reflect the sector’s most critical priorities — from AI‑driven productivity and cybersecurity resilience to interoperable payments and programmable money, empowering founders to apply agentic AI, advanced data intelligence, tokenization, and next‑gen digital identity frameworks.
“Asia-Pacific is entering a new era where AI, digital trust, and programmable financial infrastructure will fundamentally reshape how institutions operate and compete. The FinTech Innovation Lab brings the best founders together with the industry’s most forward‑thinking leaders, and together, we accelerate solutions that can scale across borders, markets, and customer needs.” said Marco Tsui, Managing Director, Hong Kong Client Group, Accenture Greater China
Simon Chan, Chairman of Hong Kong Cyberport, added “As Hong Kong’s largest FinTech hub, Cyberport connects start-ups with industry expertise, advanced AI infrastructure, and a thriving community of more than 2,300 technology companies. Through our ongoing partnership with Accenture, we are fostering a resilient, trusted, and globally connected financial future for Hong Kong while empowering innovators to transform concepts into real-world solutions.
2026 Focus Areas
1) AI-Enhanced Productivity & Client Engagement
Transforming front-to-back operations using GenAI and agentic AI — boosting relationship manager productivity, automating service channels, accelerating document workflows, and improving operational efficiency.
2) Responsible AI & Model Risk Governance
Enabling safe, explainable, and well‑controlled use of AI through oversight frameworks covering validation, drift monitoring, auditability, guardrails, permissions, and human‑in‑the‑loop governance.
3) Digital Trust: Cybersecurity, Fraud Prevention & Resilience
Advancing defence across critical operations with AI‑enabled threat detection, scam/ATO prevention, deepfake identification, and vendor and supply‑chain risk management.
4) Financial Crime, RegTech, Risk & Compliance Automation
Modernizing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (CFT), sanctions, and compliance workflows using advanced analytics, network analysis, case prioritization, automated reporting, and continuous controls testing.
5) Future of Money & Payments: Interoperable Rails, Digital Assets & Programmable Money
Building interoperable and programmable value‑transfer infrastructure, including ISO 20022 modernization, cross‑border payment interlinking, tokenised deposits, and digital asset settlement rails.
6) Open Finance, Digital Identity & API Ecosystems
Enabling seamless integration through secure APIs, consent‑based data sharing, digital identity verification, and automated partner onboarding.
7) Insurance Transformation (InsurTech)
Enhancing underwriting, claims, policy administration, and distribution through AI-driven pricing, straight‑through processing, fraud‑leakage reduction, and embedded insurance capabilities.
Key Dates for 2026
- Application Deadline: April 30, 2026
- Program Start: September 2026
- Demo Day: November 2026 (during Hong Kong FinTech Week)
At Demo Day, participants will present their solutions to investors, regulators, and industry leaders, showcasing innovations poised to reshape financial ecosystems across the region. Alumni consistently highlight the Lab’s ability to accelerate commercial growth and forge long‑term partnerships with major institutions.
Since its launch in 2014, the Lab has supported more than 100 fintech startups, whose alumni have collectively raised over US$1.4 billion, delivered more than 570 proof‑of‑concepts, and achieved 2 IPOs and 15 acquisitions.
A full list of participating financial institutions and venture partners is available here.
Apply now: http://www.fintechinnovationlab.com/regions/asia-pacific
About FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific
Modelled on similar programs that Accenture co-founded in New York and London, the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia Pacific is a highly competitive accelerator program that helps growth-stage startups refine and test their value propositions with the support of the world’s leading financial institutions.
Find out more here.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading solutions and services company that helps the world’s leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed across the enterprise, bringing together the talent of our approximately 784,000 people, our proprietary assets and platforms, and deep ecosystem relationships. Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work in the world. Through our Reinvention Services we bring together our capabilities across strategy, consulting, technology, operations, Song and Industry X with our deep industry expertise to create and deliver solutions and services for our clients. Our purpose is to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity, and we measure our success by the 360° value we create for all our stakeholders.
Accenture has been operating in China for nearly 40 years, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Hong Kong and Taipei.
Visit us at accenture.com.
About Hong Kong Cyberport
Wholly owned by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, Cyberport is Hong Kong’s digital tech hub and AI accelerator, with a vision to empower industry digitalisation and intelligent transformation, to promote digital economy and AI development, and to foster Hong Kong to be an international AI, innovation and technology (I&T) hub. Cyberport gathers over 2,300 companies, including 17 listed companies and 8 unicorns. One-third of onsite companies’ founders come from 27 countries and regions, while Cyberport companies have expanded to over 35 global markets.
Cyberport, with Hong Kong’s largest AI Supercomputing Centre and AI Lab as the engine, has been building the AI ecosystem with industry-leading AI companies and over 500 AI and data science start-ups. Through development of tech clusters, namely AI, data science, blockchain and cybersecurity, Cyberport empowers industries across smart city and government, banking and finance, digital entertainment, culture and tourism, healthcare, education and training, property management, construction, transportation and logistics, green environment and more, while hosting Hong Kong’s largest FinTech community. Commissioned by the HKSAR Government, Cyberport has implemented proof-of-concept and sandbox schemes, subsidisation for digital tech adoption, industry tech training and start-up incubation, to drive technology R&D, translation and commercialisation, thus propelling digital transformation and intelligent upgrade across industry and society.
Also as “State-level Scientific and Technological Enterprise Incubator” and Hong Kong’s key incubator, Cyberport supports entrepreneurs with funding and office space, extensive networks of enterprises, investors, technology corporations and professional services for business growth and expansion to Chinese Mainland and overseas markets, all-round facilitation for landing in Hong Kong, talent attraction and cultivation, ready as a launchpad to take start-ups in any stages of development to the next level.
For more information, please visit https://www.cyberport.hk/en.