Hong Kong’s HKMA and PBoC announced the launch of e-CNY Wallets to local users today.
The e-CNY wallet will enhance the country’s cross-boundary payment services.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the launch of e-CNY wallets for local users in a press release on May 17. The project advocating for Cross-Boundary payments has been in effect since 2019.The e-CNY is a pilot program of China’s experimentation with digital fiat currency payment systems in connection with the People’s Bank of China(PBoC).
The press release stated that users can access their wallets utilising their Hong Kong phone numbers. The HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority) in joint association with the PBoC has been working to expand payment facilities using fiat currencies. The e-CNY uses a Faster Payment System (FPS) to facilitate top-ups of the e-CNY wallets.
Hong Kong e-CNY Wallets
The e-CNY is a trial program that has been tested in different parts of China for several years now. It aims at enhancing interoperability and does so by linking the FPS to the central bank digital currency system which is also the first of its kind. Furthermore, the current version of e-CNY wallets allows top-ups via FPS through 17 retail banks in Hong Kong.
Moreover, the wallets can now be used in the GBA region of Hong Kong and some other Mainland pilot areas. The e-CNY wallet is the result of China’s aim to introduce a digital currency, the digital yuan, which would be easily available, similar to cash payments. The digital yuan was created to compete with other digital currencies such as Bitcoin. The e-CNY aims to work with traditional e-payment service providers to provide more consumption choices for users residing in Hong Kong.
Additionally, the press release included a statement from the Chief Executive of HKMA who discussed plans to build a payment method that can be accessed ‘anytime, anywhere’. He stated that it can be made feasible by expanding Hong Kong e-CNY and leveraging 24*7 operating hours.
In conclusion, the launch of the Hong Kong e-CNY wallet to local users, marks an advancement in their Cross-Boundary payment expansion plans announced by the HKMA and PBoC in January. Previously, in late April six BTC and Ethereum ETFs made their debut in Hong Kong.
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