Hong Kong / Thai central banks unveil cross border digital currency results
Today the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank of Thailand (BoT) announced their findings from a cross border central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative. The aim was to experiment with circumventing the correspondent banking network, allowing direct payments between banks. Hence this was an institutional or wholesale CBDC experiment. Two commercial banks in Hong Kong and eight in Thailand participated in the research. The two central banks will continue their joint research, including exploring business cases and connectivity to other platforms. This is a continuation of Thailand’s Project Inthanon research and Hong Kong’s LionRock project. The report follows yesterday’s announcement that six central banks and the Bank for International Settlements plan to collaborate on CBDC research. Typically, in correspondent banking, to make cross border payments, a bank will establish accounts at other banks in numerous jurisdictions. ...