HSBC launches HKD stablecoin RedCoin on PayMe
HSBC has launched RedCoin through PayMe, giving retail users a licensed HKD token for transfers and merchant payments as Hong Kong expands regulated stablecoins.
Merkle Street Newsroom#b29bce3 min read
HSBC launched RedCoin, its first Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, on 23 October, bringing a bank-issued digital token for transfers and merchant payments to retail users through PayMe. The bank said the token is licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and that more than 3.3 million PayMe users would be able to activate a wallet in the app. In its launch announcement, HSBC said the first uses are person-to-person payments and payments at more than 100,000 PayMe merchants.
How does RedCoin move between users?
RedCoin runs on HSBC’s own distributed ledger network. HSBC says smart contracts—programs that carry out transactions under preset rules—create and move the coins. A customer activates a stablecoin wallet in PayMe, then uses the balance to send RedCoin to another person or pay a merchant through the app. The wallet is separate from a bank account; it is more like a dedicated pocket inside the app than another line in a customer’s account balance.
HSBC’s RedCoin information page says each coin is backed by segregated, highly liquid assets and is designed to be redeemable one-for-one for Hong Kong dollars, subject to the terms. The bank also publishes circulation and reserve figures. As of 26 October, its page listed HK$81 million in RedCoin circulation and HK$82 million in reserve assets. HSBC says the token is not a protected deposit under Hong Kong’s deposit protection scheme.
Who can use it, and where?
The initial distribution channel is PayMe. HSBC said wallet activation would open to users in the days after launch. At launch, the stated uses are transfers between individuals and payments to merchants that accept PayMe. The Block’s report on the rollout likewise described the in-app wallet as the route for both payment types.
HSBC has also said it plans to add RedCoin wallets to the HSBC HK Mobile Banking App later this year. It expects to let customers use RedCoin to subscribe to tokenised investment products, including a planned share class of its Hong Kong dollar money market fund. Those features are future plans, not part of the initial PayMe launch.
What does the licence change?
The HKMA granted HSBC a stablecoin issuer licence in April 2026. That authorisation makes HSBC a regulated issuer under Hong Kong’s stablecoin framework; the coin’s value still depends on its backing and redemption arrangements. The bank says it will publish independent reserve attestations, with the first expected after the fourth quarter of 2026.
RedCoin’s first phase keeps the token inside familiar retail payment apps and PayMe’s merchant network. The next step will be whether HSBC adds the planned banking-app and investment functions, while maintaining reserve reporting and the ability to redeem tokens for Hong Kong dollars.
Source material
- launch announcement — about.hsbc.com.hk
- report on the rollout — theblock.co