More foreign banks join China's digital yuan as e-CNY integration expands

Four foreign banks now offer e-CNY services

Following the entry of British bank Standard Chartered, more foreign banks have joined China's digital yuan central bank digital currency (CBDC), known as e-CNY. Hong Kong-based HSBC, Hang Seng Bank, and Taiwanese bank Fubon Bank have all integrated e-CNY into their platforms, allowing clients to transfer and withdraw the digital currency.

HSBC and Hang Seng Bank offer additional features

Hang Seng Bank has gone a step further by allowing personal banking customers to bind debit cards within the official e-CNY app and redeem digital renminbi. Clients can also top up their digital renminbi wallet through the Hang Seng China Mobile Banking App. HSBC has added similar features for retail e-CNY use.

Fubon Bank explores e-CNY applications

Fubon Bank has enabled users to recharge e-CNY via mobile banking and use the CBDC with its bank card. The bank has expressed its intention to continue exploring e-CNY CBDC applications in cross-border trade, smart contracts, cross-border payments, and supply chain finance.

Bank executives highlight opportunities

Song Yuesheng, vice chairman and president of Hang Seng China, stated that the bank plans to leverage the e-CNY CBDC pilot to create new consumption scenarios, enrich service systems, stimulate new consumption vitality, and provide business opportunities. Standard Chartered, on the other hand, is experimenting with the e-CNY CBDC in areas such as cross-border merchant payments, trade financing, and supply chain financing.

Cross-border oil deal and growing yuan settlements

In a significant milestone, the Chinese digital yuan CBDC was used for the first time to settle a cross-border oil deal, with PetroChina International purchasing 1 million barrels of oil using the CBDC. Additionally, the use of the yuan in cross-border settlements has seen a 35% year-on-year increase in the first three quarters of 2023, reaching $1.39 trillion.