- The Hong Kong Financial Authority has introduced the graduation of its e-HKD pilot program.
- This system is a part of a broader plan by the HKMA to discover the implementation of a retail CBDC.
- The pilot program will see participation from 16 companies together with Ripple Labs and Mastercard.
The Hong Kong Financial Authority (HKMA) has kickstarted its e-HKD pilot program, paving the way in which for the potential implementation of a retail central financial institution digital foreign money (CBDC) in Hong Kong. The pilot program is a part of a broader plan by the city-state to discover the use circumstances of a retail CBDC for the settlement of tokenized property, offline funds, and programmable funds amongst a number of different makes use of.
In accordance with a press launch by the HKMA, Hong Kong’s central banking establishment’s newest pilot program will see participation from 16 companies from the monetary, fee, and expertise sectors. As per the listing, the companies embody main blockchain agency Ripple Labs, Normal Chartered, and prime fee answer suppliers Visa and Mastercard.
The e-HKD pilot program is a key a part of Rail 2 below the Hong Kong Financial Authority’s three-rail method which laid out the roadmap and timeline for a possible retail CBDC within the city-state. As per Rail 2, the HKMA will take deep dives into use circumstances in addition to utility, implementation, and design points referring to e-HKD.
This stage additionally features a collection of pilots in collaboration with trade stakeholders so as to gauge feasibility and acquire precise expertise. Rail 2 will run parallel to Rail 1, which goals to put the expertise and authorized foundations to assist the implementation of e-HKD. Rail 1 additionally entails the preparation of legislative amendments so as to make CBDC a authorized tender in Hong Kong.
Eddie Yue, the chief govt of HKMA, said that the pilot program will assist Hong Kong preserve its standing as a world monetary hub. “We welcome the optimistic suggestions obtained and agree with the respondents on the necessity to take a deep dive into points corresponding to privateness safety and use circumstances,” he added.