The CBDC pilot program, helmed by Standard Chartered, has completed the required CBDC payment trials covering individuals, merchants, and various sectors.
Standard Chartered was tasked by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in May 2023 to carry out CBDC payment trials for the e-HKD. The bank researched aspects of reliability, inclusiveness, and security for an offline e-HKD. The trials explored the CBDC’s support in payment use cases as the tests continued for months. Recently, the bank published a press release on the CBDC pilot program.
Moreover, Standard Chartered Hong Kong also involved around 200 individuals and over ten merchants during the two rounds of the trial. It involved several sectors like public transport, university campuses, office flea markets, and university campuses. Senior Hong Kong government and Standard Chartered officials joined in to test the e-HKD in public transport.
Meanwhile, students at the University of Hong Kong also tested the offline e-HKD while buying lunch. The bank explained the benefits and use cases of the CBDC to them. On the other hand, restaurants and flea markets tested the CBDC in hypothetical scenarios without internet connections.
Esther Mai, a senior official of Standard Chartered, said, “To explore the benefits of an e-HKD as a viable alternative to cash, we have worked with academia, the catering industry, public transportation, and small retailers to trial on testing the offline payment capabilities, especially in challenging environments, where there is no internet connection or power supply.”
Meanwhile, Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank are testing a system similar to the SWIFT network. The new network would link blockchain transactions, stablecoins, and CBDCs. Called the Universal Digital Payments Network; both banks are running a slew of test cases on it. Creators of the network have claimed the network could act as an interoperable link between various blockchain networks.
Thus, international banks have continued to be active proponents of the use cases of blockchain technology.