{
  "id": 18230470,
  "title": "Chinese banks explore local e-CNY wallets for foreign firms via upgraded platform",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/chinese-banks-explore-local-e-cny-wallets-for-foreign-firms-via-18230470",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-05T02:00:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SCMP Business",
    "slug": "scmp-business",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3373264/chinese-banks-explore-local-e-cny-wallets-foreign-firms-upgraded-platform"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Beijing is broadening its digital currency network to incorporate offshore entities, including Hong Kong branches, while Chinese banks are investigating the prospect of local e-CNY wallets for foreign businesses. Deputy head of the People's Bank of China's digital currency research institute, Lu Yuan, stated at a Hong Kong Fintech Week panel that 30 domestic banks are currently e-CNY operators, and the aim is to extend this to offshore banks soon. Offshore banks currently rely on the Cross-border e-CNY Transfer Services (CBETS) platform for digital yuan transactions. This upgraded platform allows overseas banks to conduct round-the-clock digital payments without the need to revise their existing IT systems. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China's largest bank in terms of assets and a major e-CNY operator, has processed hundreds of billions of yuan in transactions. ICBC executive Zhang Yi encouraged overseas institutions to open e-CNY enterprise local wallets to benefit foreign enterprises. ICBC is one of the first direct participants on the CBETS platform. HSBC managing director and group head of digital currencies, corporate and institutional banking, Lewis Sun reported strong customer demand for cross-border renminbi settlements, with the bank already offering both retail and wholesale e-CNY services in mainland China. According to a report by Hong Kong's Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), regulatory coordination, payment infrastructure, digital assets, tokenization, cross-border trust infrastructure, and Hong Kong's position as a multicurrency payment center need to be optimized. China began testing the digital yuan in select cities in 2019 and upgraded it to \"digital deposit money\" in a recent central bank update, allowing it to earn interest like traditional bank deposits. As of September, there had been around 4.3 billion digital yuan transactions worth approximately 31 trillion yuan processed by the central bank.",
  "summary": "Beijing is expanding its central bank-backed digital currency network to offshore institutions, including Hong Kong branches, while banks are also exploring local e-CNY wallets for foreign firms to deepen cross-border integration. “We currently have 30 domestic banks as e-CNY operators. Right now we’re working to extend this capability to offshore banks,” Lu Yuan, deputy head of the People’s Bank…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}