HSBC rolls out Hong Kong dollar stablecoin to 3.3M PayMe users

HSBC began rolling out RedCoin, its first Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, to more than 3.3 million PayMe users in Hong Kong on Oct. 23. The token can be used for peer-to-peer transfers and payments at more than 100,000 merchants.

The rollout is taking place in phases, with full availability expected within days. PayMe users can activate a stablecoin wallet within the existing app without opening a separate account. HSBC tested the service with nearly 100 employees before launch, including wallet activation, token minting and transfers.

RedCoin uses the ticker RCHKD and is redeemable one-for-one for the Hong Kong dollar. HSBC says it is backed by segregated, high-quality liquid assets. The bank has not disclosed which blockchain supports the token.

For now, RedCoin operates within HSBC’s own applications. HSBC Digital Assets Custody provides safekeeping. PayMe users will receive transaction discounts and RewardCash incentives linked to the rollout.

HSBC holds a stored value facility licence, SVFB002, and Hong Kong’s stablecoin issuer licence, FRS02. The bank says RedCoin meets the financial crime controls required by Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance, including anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing requirements.

“Money, assets and information are moving from traditional infrastructure to always-on, data-rich and increasingly programmable digital networks,” Maggie Ng, HSBC’s chief executive for Hong Kong and head of retail banking and wealth, wrote in the bank’s announcement. She described RedCoin as a service backed by HSBC’s existing infrastructure to help customers manage that change.

Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance took effect on Aug. 1, 2025, making the issuance of fiat-referenced stablecoins a licensed activity. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority received 36 applications in its first licensing round and granted two licences on April 10, 2026. HSBC received FRS02, while FRS01 went to Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture between Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT and Animoca Brands.

Anchorpoint began an institutional pilot of its HKDAP stablecoin on Aug. 12. HSBC is launching RedCoin for retail payments and plans to expand it to corporate and institutional uses.

HSBC has worked on digital-asset projects since 2022 through the HKMA’s e-HKD+ Pilot Programme and Project Ensemble. Its HSBC Orion platform has supported the issuance of more than US$8.3 billion in digital bonds since 2023. The bank’s HSBC Gold Token, introduced in 2024, recorded 390,000 trades worth US$2.5 billion by the end of August 2026.

A June 2026 survey of 1,060 HSBC customers found that access through existing applications, faster payments and quicker settlement were among the factors that could encourage stablecoin adoption. Fifty-three percent of respondents reported that Hong Kong dollar stablecoins could support round-the-clock payments, trade, tourism and cross-border commerce.

HSBC plans to add RedCoin wallet functions to its Hong Kong mobile banking app later this year. It also plans to offer tokenised investment products, beginning with a new share class of its Hong Kong dollar money market fund.

“We are excited by the market’s interest in HSBC RedCoin,” John O’Neill, HSBC’s managing director of digital assets and currencies, wrote in the announcement. He added that the bank plans to introduce more products and expand into wholesale, corporate and institutional applications.