Hong Kong debuts China’s digital yuan pilot, prohibits peer-to-peer transfers

China’s
central
bank
digital
currency
is
now
available
in
Hong
Kong,
as
Beijing
is
pushing
hard
to
digitize
its
economy.

China
has
started
its
first
pilot
outside
the
mainland,
with

digital
yuan
now
available
in

Hong
Kong‘s
local
shops,
according
to
a

press
release
from
the
Hong
Kong
Monetary
Authority
(HKMA).
The
digital
yuan
—
also
known
as
e-CNY
—
is
now
undergoing
a
pilot
for
cross-boundary
payments.

Currently,
the
use
of
e-CNY
is
limited
to
Hong
Kong
residents,
allowing
them
to
top
up
digital
wallets
with
up
to
10,000
CNY
(approximately
$1,385)
through
17
retail
banks
in
Hong
Kong,
including
Standard
Chartered
Bank,
ZA
Bank,
and
DBS
Bank.

According
to
e-CNY’s
user
guide
published
by
HKMA,
the
application
is
available
for
download
in
both
Google
Play
and
Apple’s
App
Store.
The
city’s
regulator
says
the
e-CNY
wallets
can
be
used
for
cross-boundary
payments
only,
excluding
person-to-person
transfers
during
the
pilot.

HKMA
head
Eddie
Yue
says
Hong
Kong
will
continue
to
work
closely
with
the
People’s
Bank
of
China,
China’s
central
bank,
to
“gradually
expand
the
applications
of
e-CNY,
enrich
the
range
of
functionalities
of
the
e-CNY
wallet
available
to
Hong
Kong
residents
and
step
up
efforts
in
promoting
the
acceptance
of
e-CNY
by
more
retail
merchants
in
the
two
places.”

Meanwhile,
policymakers
in
the
U.S.
are
trying
to
bar
U.S.
financial
service
operators
from
interacting
with
China’s
digital
currency.
Senator
Rick
Scott
in
early
November
2023 introduced the
so-called
Chinese
CBDC
Prohibition
Act,
which
would
ban
U.S.
post
offices,
remittance
firms,
peer-to-peer
crowdfunding
platforming,
and
all
money
services
businesses
from
facilitating
any
transaction
that
involves
China’s
digital
yuan.