HONG KONG, April 16, 2026, 05:09 (HKT)
HSBC plans to push a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin into PayMe and its main banking app in the second half of 2026, opening the door for more than 3.3 million users to spend regulated digital tokens on everyday payments. The move, which comes days after Hong Kong handed out its first stablecoin licences, gives the city its clearest mass-market test yet for bank-issued tokens.
The timing matters. Hong Kong wants stablecoins — digital tokens meant to hold a fixed value against a currency such as the Hong Kong dollar — to move from a crypto trading tool into regulated rails for local payments, cross-border transfers and settlement of tokenised assets, or blockchain-based versions of traditional financial products. Regulators picked just two issuers from 36 applicants, a sign the city is leaning on bank-style compliance and balance-sheet strength as it tries to grow digital finance without loosening control.
HSBC said each coin will be fully backed by high-quality liquid assets held in segregated accounts. In the first phase, customers will be able to send person-to-person payments, pay participating merchants and use the stablecoin for tokenised investments through the HSBC HK app, subject to approvals. Maggie Ng, HSBC’s Hong Kong chief executive, said the licence would let the bank’s stablecoins be used “safely and securely” in payments and transactions, and the bank said PayMe already has more than 3.3 million users while active users of the HSBC Hong Kong app rose 20% year-on-year. About HSBC
Anchorpoint Financial, the joint venture backed by Standard Chartered, HKT and Animoca Brands, is taking a different route. It said its HKDAP token will be distributed through selected partners under a business-to-business-to-consumer model, meaning it plans to reach end users through intermediaries rather than by pushing straight to retail from day one. Standard Chartered Chief Executive Bill Winters called the coin a “regulated medium of exchange” for cross-border payments and tokenised markets. Standard Chartered
HKMA said both issuers still have to finish technology testing, staffing and risk controls before launch, and it expects regulated stablecoins to go live from mid-year into the second half. The regulator said issuers must run anti-money-laundering checks, use blockchain monitoring tools and verify holders’ identities.
Officials are not promising a rush of new entrants. Daryl Ho, the HKMA’s executive director for monetary management, said the authority was “open but cautious” about further approvals and that any extra licences would remain very limited. HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue called the first grants an “important milestone” for the city’s digital-asset plans. Reuters
The narrow first batch also shuts out some well-known contenders. Ant Group and JD.com had explored Hong Kong stablecoin plans last year, including proposals tied to the offshore yuan, before pausing or redirecting those efforts amid intervention from Beijing and official unease over privately controlled currencies, Reuters reported at the time.
But the rollout is not clean or guaranteed. HKMA warned the public to use only regulated channels and watch for scams that borrow the names of licensees, while cross-border uses will still have to comply with rules in other jurisdictions. A broader question is whether merchants and investors embrace these coins widely enough to justify the regime’s heavy compliance demands.
If HSBC hits its timetable, Hong Kong will move quickly from licensing stablecoins to embedding them in one of its busiest consumer payment apps, while Anchorpoint takes the slower distributor-led route. For now, the city’s bet looks simple enough: trust and distribution first, scale later.
