On June 5, the Bank of China (BOC) completed the first outbound remittance to Macao via the mBridge plantform in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone.
This remittance, conducted by BOC's Hengqin Branch in coordination with its Macao Branch, involved a government agency in the Cooperation Zone paying service fees to a Macao-based service provider. It marks a breakthrough in applying digital currency for cross-border transactions within the region.
Project mBridge is a collaborative initiative involving the People's Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the Bank of Thailand, and the Monetary Authority of Macao. This multilateral cross-border payment network utilizes central bank digital currencies and is built on distributed ledger technology. The platform supports peer-to-peer, real-time, and low-cost cross-border settlements among participating jurisdictions, significantly enhances the efficiency of cross-border payments, and provides businesses with a highly efficient, secure, and low-cost new payment infrastructure for their global operations.
The successful completion of this operation has effectively facilitated cross-border capital flows for businesses in the Cooperation Zone. It has created a new, secure, and efficient payment and settlement channel for their cross-border transactions, laying a solid foundation for the broader use of digital currencies and the promotion of cross-border payment services in the future. It represents another important step taken by BOC Hengqin Branch to enhance financial innovation in the Cooperation Zone, empower the real economy, and contribute to the cross-border integrated development of Hengqin and Macao.
Reporter | Xie Maishi
Photo | Hengqin Online
