June 24, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Anjali Kochhar<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tencent has emerged as a prominent player in the Chinese market for the mBridge cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) solution, which just released a minimum viable product (MVP). Tencent, which controls WeChat Pay, China’s largest mobile payment service with 1.1 billion monthly active users, is one of nine institutions taking part in this effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
mBridge leverages wholesale CBDCs from the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE, with Saudi Arabia joining the project earlier this month. Coordinated by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, mBridge aims to enable cheaper and faster cross-border payments, addressing the inefficiencies of traditional banking systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tencent’s participation comes through its cross-border payments arm, Tenpay Global. In the recent trials, Tenpay Global tested a use case involving the receipt of trade payments for e-commerce exports. This integration highlights Tencent’s growing role in the global fintech landscape and its commitment to enhancing digital financial solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China has been responsible for the technology architecture of the DLT-based mBridge. While other countries have the option to connect their real-time payment systems (RTGS), China has integrated its domestic CBDC, the pilot eCNY. Consequently, all incoming and outgoing funds in the mBridge system are settled in eCNY, reflecting China’s strategic push to digitalise its currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nine Chinese institutions participated in the trials leading up to the MVP launch. These included the country\u2019s major banks: ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of China, along with Bank of Communications, Postal Savings Bank, Industrial Bank, and the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tencent was among the first private firms to participate directly in China\u2019s domestic digital RMB pilot. Unlike most banks that connect to the CBDC system via other banks, Tencent\u2019s WeBank and Ant\u2019s MyBank were directly onboarded following the initial inclusion of six state banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mBridge project represents a significant step towards revolutionising cross-border payments and highlights the pivotal role of fintech giants like Tencent in the future of digital finance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About the author<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over three years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" June 24, 2024 By Anjali Kochhar Tencent has emerged as a prominent player in the Chinese market for the mBridge cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) solution, which just released a minimum viable product (MVP). Tencent, which controls WeChat Pay, China’s largest mobile payment service with 1.1 billion monthly active users, is one of nine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-all"],"yoast_head":"\n