Visa completes successful pilot test of Digital Hong Kong Dollar with local banks

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On Nov 1, payments processor Visa announced the completion of the “Digital Hong Kong Dollar” (e-HKD) pilot program conducted with two local banks, HSBC and Hang Seng Bank.

The program was organised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to explore the potential for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Hong Kong. Visa was selected for the program in May this year.

The e-HKD test marks the world's first implementation of tokenised deposits for conducting inter-bank B2B self-transactions and cross-chain transactions. The objective was to assess the system's atomicity and interoperability. 

The pilot test simulated two interbank business-to-business (B2B) payment process use cases, including property payments and settlements between payment institutions and merchants. It demonstrated B2B payment tokenisation, emphasising advantages including the payment speed, effective risk management, network resilience, and increased transparency of transactions. 

Commenting on the e-HKD pilot program, Liang Puning, Managing Director of Visa Hong Kong and Macau, said, “The HKMA’s pilot program provides Visa with a good opportunity to continue to leverage our strengths and work with our partners to drive payment innovation and test new forms of money movement. This time, the research fully demonstrates that Visa’s payment solutions can be widely used and enable safe money movement, benefiting more citizens, businesses and markets. We are very grateful to work with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, HSBC and Hang Seng Bank, and look forward to continuing to promote The development of digital payments in Hong Kong.”