Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited was selected to participate in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)’s e-HKD Pilot Programme in May of this year.

Trials were conducted to explore how a hypothetical e-HKD might support payment use cases, focusing on its inclusiveness, security and reliability, especially for payments in areas without an internet connection or a stable power supply.

Over the past few months, Standard Chartered Hong Kong completed two rounds of trials and demonstrations with the participation of some 200 individuals and more than 10 merchants and organisations from various sectors, including public transport, campus, restaurants and an office flea market.

Stephen Man, Head of Consumer, Private and Business Banking, Standard Chartered Hong Kong said:

“Standard Chartered has been exploring digital assets since 2018 and we believe that this is an important part of the future of financial services. As a note-issuing bank with over 160 years of history in Hong Kong, we are committed to supporting the FinTech initiatives of the HKMA and have been actively participating in projects and studies to explore the potential of CBDCs in retail payments and cross-border trade transactions.

The learnings and experience that we gained from the e-HKD Pilot Programme will offer meaningful insights to further build the digital economy in Hong Kong and bring greater convenience to the public.”