HSBC launches RedCoin HKD stablecoin for PayMe retail users

Key points

• HSBC launched RedCoin (RCHKD), its first HKD stablecoin, on Oct. 23
• More than 3.3 million PayMe users can activate wallets in coming days
• Usable for peer-to-peer transfers and at over 100,000 PayMe merchants
• Issued under HKMA licence FRS02; redemption and blockchain not disclosed

HSBC began rolling out RedCoin (ticker RCHKD), its first Hong Kong dollar-denominated stablecoin, to retail customers on Friday, Oct. 23. According to The Block, PayMe users will be able to activate a stablecoin wallet inside the app over the coming days. The bank’s announcement says more than 3.3 million PayMe users are eligible.

What RedCoin can be used for

At launch, RedCoin supports two uses through PayMe: peer-to-peer payments to friends and family, and payments at more than 100,000 merchants that accept PayMe, HSBC said. The bank said it ran staff pilots with nearly 100 users, covering minting, wallet activation and live transfers, before the public launch.

HSBC also plans to let customers subscribe to tokenized investment products with the coin, including a planned share class of its Hong Kong dollar money market fund. It said it intends to add stablecoin wallet functionality to the HSBC HK Mobile Banking App later this year. Launch promotions include PayMe transaction discounts and RewardCash, according to the bank.

The announcement did not state how RedCoin can be redeemed, which blockchain it runs on, or what reserve assets back it.

Licensing and regulatory backdrop

RedCoin is issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation under stablecoin issuer licence FRS02, which the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) granted in April 2026. HSBC also cited a stored value facility licence, SVFB002. HSBC Digital Assets Custody provides safekeeping for the coin.

Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance took effect in August 2025, according to The Block. In April 2026 the HKMA issued its first stablecoin issuer licences to HSBC and to Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture of Standard Chartered, HKT and Animoca Brands, The Block reported at the time. Anchorpoint began a phased institutional rollout of its HKDAP stablecoin in August.

HSBC named the coin RedCoin on Sept. 30, according to press reports at the time, and officials then cautioned the public that no coins had been issued and that tokens claiming an HSBC link would be fraudulent.

What HSBC says comes next

Maggie Ng, HSBC’s CEO for Hong Kong and head of retail banking and wealth, said the bank has an opportunity to help customers in Hong Kong manage a shift toward digital money with practical products and services. John O’Neill, managing director for digital assets and currencies, said, “This is only the beginning.”

According to The Block, O’Neill said HSBC plans more products soon and expansion into wholesale corporate and institutional use cases. HSBC has previously taken part in HKMA initiatives including the e-HKD pilot and Project Ensemble, and it offers the HSBC Gold Token for retail clients, HSBC Orion digital bonds for institutions and a tokenised deposit service for wholesale payments.

Unlike Anchorpoint’s HKDAP, which has so far been introduced in phases to institutional users, RedCoin is aimed first at a mass retail base through an existing payments app.