While Hong Kong is known as a significant international financial center, the formation of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has paved the way for maintaining the integrity and stability of its economic and banking system. HKMA works with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and also helps to regulate financial institutions by releasing guidelines that include the archiving of electronic communications.
Through SFC, financial firms are now required to comply with messaging regulations. Intermediaries are now obliged to record mobile messages, voice calls, and other types of mobile communications on different platforms like WhatsApp and WeChat. When violation and discrepancies occur, conviction of indictment and charges such as WeChat fines and imprisonment will be enforced.
But why do issuing measures and controls in using instant messaging (IM) applications matter for SFC?
To Centralize Records
All messages, contacts, IM accounts, and other critical data and records shall be centrally stored in a safe and adequate storage and capacity. Keeping all the necessary documents will help lessen the risks of data loss, record alteration, and message deletion. All these records will be solely used for compliance reviews.
For Easy Compliance Monitoring
One main goal of following these regulations is to ensure that messages will be used for audit purposes and compliance monitoring. Centralizing and backing up data would make it easier to prevent record tampering. WeChat Compliance SFC will allow regulators to conduct regular compliance reviews and promptly search for irregularities and unusual transactions on business messaging platforms.
To Establish Client Awareness
Financial firms must be aware of all the potential risks of using various IM applications. Nowadays, some mobile applications are considered unsafe and prone to security issues. Hence, financial firms must also be familiar with the terms and conditions of these messaging solutions as they are the ones to inform and allow clients to transact via messaging platforms.
Conclusion
Whether intermediaries use different IM solutions, archiving electronic communications by any means is more significant, particularly in record keeping, since SFC now requires firms’ compliance. Therefore, it is crucial to find the best tools and archiving products and solutions that secure and manage data protection.