HSBC has trialed tokenized deposits to enable a corporate client to move money between its multiple HSBC accounts. The test used the blockchain platform of Ant Group, the parent of China’s AliPay. It was conducted in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) Fintech Supervisory Sandbox.
The use of tokenized deposits for corporate treasury management is a common application. Typically large companies have subsidiaries dotted around the world and need to shift money between them. By using tokenized deposits they can do so in real time and outside of banking hours. For example, Siemens uses JP Morgan’s JPM Coin platform to do something similar.
“We are excited to apply the concept of tokenised deposit to unlock next-generation treasury solutions together with Ant Group,” said Vincent Lau, Global Head of Emerging Payments, Global Payments Solutions, HSBC. “At HSBC, we will continue to leverage tokenised deposit and other financial innovations to streamline and optimise treasury management for our clients.”
HSBC said it has been supporting Ant Group’s blockchain treasury management solution since 2020. It enables currency transfer HKD, CNY, USD, GBP, and EUR.
This is by no means HSBC’s first tokenized deposit test. It was part of the Regulated Liability Network trials in both the UK and US. It has also participated in multiple central bank digital currency CBDC trials. For example, Swift’s interoperability trials and the mBridge cross border CBDC platform. Additionally, as part of Hong Kong’s eHKD CBDC pilots, it was involved in tokenized deposit trials with Hang Seng Bank and Visa.
