HSBC announced on Friday the launch of RedCoin (RCHKD), its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, now available to more than 3.3 million users of its PayMe platform. The debut makes it the first retail stablecoin issued by a bank in Hong Kong.

Wallets pay more than 100,000 merchants across Hong Kong

RedCoin is a stablecoin — a digital token designed to hold a steady value against a reference asset, in this case the Hong Kong dollar — and it circulates as a currency within PayMe, HSBC's consumer payments app. HSBC said users can activate a stablecoin wallet in the app over the coming days.

The wallet transmits tokens to friends and family and pays at more than 100,000 merchants across Hong Kong via PayMe. The launch is accompanied by PayMe transaction discounts and RewardCash offers.

The token is licensed and regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) under the city's Stablecoins Ordinance, legislation aimed at issuers of fiat-referenced stablecoins that came into force in August 2025. HSBC received its issuer license, FRS02, in April 2026, while PayMe operates under a separate stored value facility license, SVFB002. HSBC Digital Assets Custody acts as custodian of the tokens.

Hong Kong requires the identification of all stablecoin holders. PayMe users had already completed HSBC's know-your-customer checks, so the closed system cleared that hurdle and put the bank ahead of the curve in the retail market.

Ahead of launch, staff pilots involving roughly 100 users tested minting, wallet activation, and live transfers.

A long digital-asset track record

HSBC is among the three commercial banks authorized to issue Hong Kong dollar banknotes. Since 2022, it has taken part in the HKMA's e-HKD+ Pilot Programme and Project Ensemble. By the end of August 2026, its HSBC Gold Token for retail customers had logged 390,000 trades worth US$2.5 billion.

A tokenized HKD money market fund comes next

Later this year, HSBC plans to let customers subscribe to tokenized investment products using RedCoin, starting with a new share class of its long-running HKD money market fund — a step that would extend the token from everyday payments into investment subscriptions. The fund plan was not mentioned when HSBC rolled out the RedCoin brand in September. Stablecoin wallet functions are also planned for the HSBC HK Mobile Banking App later this year.

"We will soon add more products, including expanding into wholesale corporate and institutional use cases," said John O'Neill, HSBC's managing director for digital assets and currencies.

"Money, assets and information are moving from traditional infrastructure to always-on, data-rich and increasingly programmable digital networks," said Maggie Ng, chief executive of HSBC in Hong Kong.

The other first-batch issuer is taking an institutional-first path

HSBC is one of two companies in the HKMA's first batch of licenses. The other is Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture between Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT, and Animoca Brands. Anchorpoint began rolling out its HKDAP token in phases in August, initially opening the token to institutional and professional investors. Per previous Cryptopolitan coverage, HKDAP had around 522,000 tokens in circulation as of August 19.

Anchorpoint has said retail access could come as soon as the end of 2026. HSBC, by contrast, went straight to consumers with an app that has millions of accounts.

The HKMA took in 36 license applications in 2025. HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue said the regulator will first examine the performance of the first two stablecoins before approving others, according to previous Cryptopolitan reporting. For the rest of that applicant pool, the early performance of RedCoin and HKDAP now stands as the reference point the regulator has said it will weigh first.