The People's Bank of China actively seeks international collaboration, inviting more Hong Kong banks to join the digital yuan pilot.
Hong Kong's government has revealed that additional banks in the region are gearing up to participate in Mainland China's digital yuan pilot. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) is actively seeking to broaden the cross-border applications of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), with a focus on expanding internationally. Christopher Hui, Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, announced at a fintech conference in Shenzhen that "more Hong Kong banks" would be invited to join the pilot.
Hui emphasized the recent integration of the digital yuan network with Hong Kong's fast payment system (FPS), emphasizing the added value to digital yuan wallets. He stated that the preliminary technical testing phase for digital yuan adoption in cross-border payments had been completed, with the PBoC and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) entering the second phase of technical testing.
The government intends to update relevant regulatory and compliance protocols to support innovative cross-border applications of the digital yuan. Hui reaffirmed Hong Kong's commitment to facilitating retail payments using both the FPS and the digital yuan, envisioning a two-way interconnection between the two innovations. However, he refrained from providing a specific timeline for these developments.
Hui's statements followed the recent inclusion of Hong Kong-based banking giants HSBC and Hang Seng Bank in China's digital yuan pilot. Standard Chartered and the mainland Chinese arm of Taiwan's Fubon Bank have also joined the pilot, highlighting growing interest among banks in participating.
