China’s digital currency: Bank of China helps mainland tourists spend e-CNY in Hong Kong at select retailers
- Bank of China Hong Kong kicked off a new e-CNY trial at more than 200 outlets on Tuesday with a new shopping festival for people travelling from the mainland
- It is the bank’s third e-CNY trial in the city as it seeks to help test cross-border payments of China’s sovereign digital currency
Bank of China Hong Kong (BOCHK) is allowing mainland customers to shop with e-CNY, China’s sovereign digital currency, at more than 200 retail outlets in the city, as the bank seeks to boost cross-border use of the digital yuan.
BOCHK’s new “cross-border shopping festival” allows Bank of China clients to pay with e-CNY at retailers in Hong Kong – including U Select, CDF Beauty and Lung Fung Dispensary – the bank said in a statement on Tuesday, the start of the festival.
The move comes after two smaller trials conducted in the past year, and is aimed at “further promoting the cross-border applications of e-CNY”, BOCHK said in a statement.
Chen Guang, BOCHK’s deputy general manager of the digital currency task force, said that the “shopping festival” is launching now because July and August are traditionally the busy tourist season. The bank hopes the promotion will help retailers in the city attract customers, he added.
The campaign runs through October 31, BOCHK said.
