Residents of Hong Kong are now able to use e-CNY wallets thanks to an expansion of the cross-border digital yuan pilot programme by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). China’s central bank digital currency is called the digital yuan (CBDC).
China is one of the most developed nations in the world when it comes to investigating the uses of digital versions of its currencies; it has been testing the digital yuan for a number of years.
According to a press statement from the HKMA on Friday, adopters will be able to set up the wallets with just a phone number and use them for so-called cross-border payments, such those to stores, but not for transfers between individuals. The wallets are usable throughout the Greater Bay Area (GBA) of Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and other parts of mainland China where the pilot programme is being conducted.
According to HKMA CEO Eddie Yue’s comments, users will be able to pay retailers straight from the wallets without having to open a bank account on the mainland. Through 17 retail banks in Hong Kong, they can instantly replenish their wallets by utilising the Faster Payment System (FPS).
The PBOC and the HKMA plan to keep collaborating to increase the e-CNY’s scope of use. In order to investigate adding capabilities like name verification and improving interoperability in payments and business use cases like cross-border trade settlement, the HKMA intends to collaborate with the Digital Currency Institute.
In December 2021, China and Hong Kong announced the successful completion of the first phase of cross-border digital yuan experiments. A year earlier, after preliminary discussions, they had launched a second phase. Additionally, the special administrative area has been testing the e-HKD, a CBDC that it created and began its second phase of trial programme in March.