The second phase of the Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency, or m-CBDC, Bridge Project will be in a few months’ time, said Eddie Yue, chief executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, during the launch of the BIS Annual Economic Report.
Phase two is about the commercialization of the prototype, which is going very smoothly. If phase two is successful, cross-border payment could be done in real-time on the payment-versus-payment basis in four jurisdictions 24/7.
Yue expects to move into the third phase by year end if the second phase is successful. Phase three will be about the participating entities, including the stock exchange in Hong Kong and Bangkok and 30 banks in four jurisdictions to put real transactions onto the platform.
As for retail-CBDC, the HKMA launched a ‘Project Aurum.’ Yue said the difficulty is policy issues and a study is expected to be completed in 12 months.
