HKMA Initiates Phase 2 of e-HKD Pilot Programme to Explore Digital Money Innovations

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has commenced Phase 2 of the e-HKD Pilot Programme, delving deeper into innovative use cases for new forms of digital money, according to the official announcement. This phase aims to explore the potential of e-HKD and tokenised deposits for both individual and corporate use.

Project e-HKD+ Expansion

Project e-HKD has been rebranded as Project e-HKD+ to reflect its broader scope, encompassing a more comprehensive exploration of the digital money ecosystem. The HKMA's initiative underscores its commitment to advancing the fintech landscape and unlocking the full potential of digital money.

Key Themes and Participants

Under Phase 2, 11 groups of firms from diverse sectors have been selected to investigate innovative use cases across three primary themes: settlement of tokenised assets, programmability, and offline payments. These firms will also assess the commercial feasibility of new digital money forms in real-world settings.

Practical Outcomes and Industry Collaboration

The findings from Phase 2 will provide the HKMA with insights into the practical challenges of designing, implementing, and operating a digital money ecosystem that includes both publicly and privately issued digital currencies. To facilitate this, the HKMA will establish the e-HKD Industry Forum, a collaborative platform for participating institutions to discuss common issues and explore scalable implementation and adoption strategies. Industry-led working groups will focus initially on programmability-related issues.

e-HKD Sandbox and Future Prospects

Similar to Phase 1, an e-HKD sandbox will be available to pilot participants to accelerate the prototyping, development, and testing of their use cases. Over the next 12 months, the HKMA will collaborate closely with the selected firms, aiming to share key learnings from Phase 2 with the public by the end of 2025.

Mr. Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA, stated, “Project e-HKD+ signifies the HKMA’s commitment to digital money innovation. The e-HKD Pilot Programme has provided a valuable opportunity to explore how new forms of digital money can add unique value to the general public. We look forward to working closely with industry participants in Phase 2 to co-create various innovative use cases.”