The digital currency research institute of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has joined an international research project for cross-border payments using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), according to a Tuesday announcement by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which jointly initiated the program with the Bank of Thailand in 2019, reported Caixin.
The project, renamed “m-CBDC Bridge” and currently in its second phase, aims to facilitate real-time cross-border foreign exchange payment-versus-payment transactions in a multi-jurisdictional context, and explore business use cases in a cross-border context using both domestic and foreign currencies.
The HKMA, Hong Kong’s de facto central bank, expects the project’s findings to solve problems associated with cross-border fund transfers including inefficiencies, high costs and complex regulatory compliance.