Standard Chartered Bank joins China's CBDC pilot program to expand cross-border merchant payments and trade financing.

Standard Chartered Bank announced yesterday, on the 27th, their participation in China's digital currency e-CNY CBDC pilot program. Through cooperation with partner City Bank's clearing services, customers will be able to purchase, exchange, and redeem e-CNY within their bank accounts, aiming to explore more future applications within the Chinese financial system.

Standard Chartered Bank Participates in China's CBDC Pilot

Standard Chartered Bank announced that it will participate in the testing project of China's central bank digital currency (CBDC), known as the digital yuan or e-CNY, becoming one of the first foreign banks to participate in the pilot of the digital yuan business.

At the same time, Standard Chartered will also collaborate with the China Banking Clearing Company to provide services such as storage, exchange, and redemption of the digital yuan for its customers.

Standard Chartered stated that through joining the pilot program, they will explore areas such as cross-border merchant payments, trade, and supply chain financing, and continue to provide more comprehensive and diverse services to the needs of individual and corporate customers.

Reports indicate that China is one of the earliest countries in the world to research and conduct large-scale trials of CBDCs, with pilot areas currently including 26 provinces and cities across the country.

Data shows that as of the end of the first half of 2023, the number of app wallets created in e-CNY pilot areas has reached 120 million, with accumulated transactions totaling 950 million, and the total transaction volume reaching 1.8 trillion yuan or 263.6 billion U.S. dollars, demonstrating a significant scale.

Standard Chartered Bank: Bullish on the Development Prospects of e-CNY

Standard Chartered Bank China's CEO, Zhang Xiaolei, stated:

As an important infrastructure for the digital economy, the development of e-CNY will continue to enhance payment and consumption experiences and strengthen connectivity with the international financial markets.

She added, "As an international bank rooted in the Chinese market for 165 years, Standard Chartered Bank holds an optimistic view on the development prospects of e-CNY."

Two weeks ago, Standard Chartered Bank's investment and innovation arm, SC Ventures, launched the tokenization platform Libeara, aimed at enabling fund managers, governments, and issuers to tokenize real-world assets RWA on-chain or issue regulated security tokens while reducing trading costs, increasing transparency, and operational efficiency.

RWA | Standard Chartered Bank Launches Digital Platform Libeara to Assist Tokenization of Singapore Bond Funds

Countries Accelerate CBDC Applications Successively

With the rapid development of blockchain and cryptocurrencies worldwide, in addition to China, countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore have successively begun designing CBDC projects, with each country exploring legal frameworks and testing solutions.

Kazakhstan's Digital Tenge Pilot Program Launched, First Batch of CBDCs Issued

Mastercard Completes Reserve Bank of Australia Pilot Program, CBDC Wrapped on Ethereum for NFT Purchase

French Central Bank Governor: Wholesale CBDC Project to be Announced in the Coming Weeks, Real Transaction Pilot to be Launched Next Year