HSBC China has become the first foreign bank in the country to offer e-CNY services to both its corporate and retail clients. This new service enables corporate customers to link their business bank accounts with digital yuan accounts, simplifying asset management.
China started testing the e-CNY in 2019 in cities like Shanghai and Beijing. The e-CNY is a digital version of the yuan, designed to partly replace cash and initially targeted at everyday retail transactions.
To introduce its corporate e-CNY services, HSBC teamed up with Nord Anglia Education Group, which operates schools across China. They facilitated e-CNY payments in six schools in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Jiaxing, and Suzhou, marking the first e-CNY transaction for the bank.
Lin Cheng, deputy director of finance and tax at Nord Anglia, highlighted the benefits of e-CNY, such as low costs, instant settlements, and the automatic conversion function provided by HSBC.
Cheng noted that these features help reduce costs and improve efficiency, and he sees the growing e-CNY infrastructure as a chance for digital advancements in school management.
Last month, Hong Kong introduced digital wallets for cross-border e-CNY payments, aiming to increase e-CNY usage among its residents. To open a digital yuan wallet, individuals must go through authorized banks like the Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank, or Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
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