The pilot scheme of mainland China’s central bank digital currency has expanded to Hong Kong for the first time.
The pilot for the digital yuan, officially called the e-CNY, has expanded to Hong Kong, according to a statement from the city’s de facto central bank. Hongkongers will now be able to set up and use e-CNY wallets by using their local mobile phone numbers. They will also be able to top up their wallets via online payment through 17 retail banks.
«By expanding the e-CNY pilot in Hong Kong and leveraging the 24x7 operating hours and real-time transfer advantages of the [Faster Payment System], users may now top up their e-CNY wallets anytime, anywhere without having to open a Mainland bank account, thereby facilitating merchant payments in the Mainland by Hong Kong residents,» said Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
Future Upgrades
According to the HKMA, the city will continue working with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to explore upgrades for the e-CNY wallet through «real-name verification and enhancing the interoperability in payments». Corporate use cases will also be explored to facilitate cross-border trade settlement.
«We will continue to work closely with the PBOC to gradually expand the applications of e-CNY, enrich the range of functionalities of the e-CNY wallet available to Hong Kong residents and step up efforts in promoting the acceptance of e-CNY by more retail merchants in the two places,» Yue added.
