Hong Kong to Connect Digital Yuan With Domestic Payments System in Cross-Border Trials

Financial authorities in Hong Kong have announced a second phase of trials for mainland China’s digital currency. As part of the upcoming tests, the city will link the Chinese digital yuan to its domestic payments system to evaluate the CBDC’s usability in cross-border scenarios.

Hong Kong Residents to Load E-CNY Wallets via Mobile Phones

China has gained a lot of ground in its push to develop and implement a central bank digital currency (CBDC). And while officials in Beijing have indicated that the e-CNY is a domestic project at this stage, cross-border trials have been launched in the special administrative region of Hong Kong.

After initial small-scale experiments with digital yuan wallets, the latest testing round will check how Hong Kong residents can load the e-CNY wallets using the city’s faster payment network, Reuters reported. The system is currently processing domestic payments ordered through mobile devices.

The new trials were announced during a press conference on Tuesday. Speaking to the media, the chief fintech officer at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Nelson Chow, elaborated that “This will help Hong Kong residents to use e-CNY when they cross the border.”