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China, Hong Kong To Test World's First CBDC, Faster Payments Linkage
The central banks of Hong Kong and mainland China have announced plans to expand the scope of their ongoing pilot of e-CNY, China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Under the expansion, Hong Kong residents will be able to set up e-CNY wallets, and will also be able to top up e-CNY wallets through Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS).
This marks the first linkage of a faster payment system with a CBDC system in the world, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said in a statement.
“It provides an innovative use case which underscores interoperability, a key area set out in the G20 Roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments,” the HKMA added.
Hong Kong users can also set up e-CNY wallets using only a mobile phone number. However, these wallets can only be used for cross-border person-to-merchant (P2M) payments and not for person-to-person transfers.
Latvijas Banka Issues Draft Regulation On Account Switching Service
Latvijas Banka, the Central Bank of Latvia, has released a draft regulation on the “Procedure for Providing the Account Exchange Service”.
This regulation is a significant step towards streamlining account-switching services for consumers, ensuring transparency and fairness in fee comparability, account switching and access to basic payment accounts.
The new regulation is designed to offer clear guidelines to consumers and market participants, fostering a competitive environment.
It mandates that payment service providers in Latvia implement the necessary information to facilitate account switches between providers.
This draft will replace the existing Regulation No. 83 of the Financial and Capital Markets Commission. Stakeholders are invited to submit feedback by May 29, 2024, via email.
