HSBC Hong Kong is one of the 16 participants in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilots. Tomorrow it starts an HSBC eHKD trial with HKUST Business School students and staff.
The bank will use distributed ledger technology (DLT) to simulate programmable money and instant settlement for retail payments. Around 200 participants will receive ‘hypothetical’ eHKD to spend within a week at five campus merchants, such as cafes. They can also receive rewards as a digital token.
“The findings will help validate the effectiveness of a digital currency in retail, public-wide type scenarios, given the richness of the payment eco-system in HK,” said Bojan Obradović, Chief Digital Officer Hong Kong at HSBC. It plans to publish the results next quarter.
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