{"id":76037,"date":"2023-10-23T22:56:54","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T02:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/markets\/crypto\/singapore-firm-inks-cbdc-deal-with-chinese-bank\/"},"modified":"2023-10-23T22:56:56","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T02:56:56","slug":"singapore-firm-inks-cbdc-deal-with-chinese-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=76037","title":{"rendered":"Singapore Firm Inks CBDC Deal with Chinese Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Singaporean payments firm has sealed a \u201ccross-border\u201d digital yuan cooperation deal with a major Chinese bank, in another breakthrough for the CBDC.<\/p>\n

Per the Shanghai Securities News, the deal was concluded by Thunes, a global payment infrastructure provider, and the China Construction Bank (CCB).<\/p>\n

The CCB is a state-owned financial institution that comprises one of China\u2019s \u201cbig four\u201d commercial banks.<\/p>\n

Thunes, headquartered in Singapore, is a B2B payments provider to customers such as Uber and Deliveroo.<\/p>\n

The deal will see Thunes and the CCB \u201ccooperate to explore digital yuan cross-border [settlement] and payment solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

It will allow parties to make digital yuan settlements in \u201cexport-based cross-border e-commerce\u201d and a range of \u201cremittance scenarios.\u201d<\/p>\n

Singaporean Cross-border Digital Yuan Deal: Significant for China?<\/h2>\n

Before 2023, Chinese officials had insisted that the e-CNY was primarily a domestic project.<\/p>\n

They said it was mainly intended as a digital cash alternative for retail payments.<\/p>\n

But since the turn of the year, the central People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and its partners have changed their messaging, with more talk of \u201ccross-border\u201d uses of the coin.<\/p>\n

An increasing number of \u201ccross-border\u201d pilot projects have materialized in Hong Kong and neighboring Mainland Chinese cities.<\/p>\n

More recently, the PBoC has established an e-CNY link to Hong Kong\u2019s FPS payment platform.<\/p>\n

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And during the recent Asian Games in Hangzhou, the PBoC and its partners launched a range of e-CNY services for foreign students and overseas visitors to China.<\/p>\n

However, any sort of expansion to the Singaporean market \u2013 or other markets in Thunes\u2019 network \u2013 would mark a major departure for the PBoC.<\/p>\n

The move could potentially open the door for overseas e-commerce platforms to sell goods to Chinese buyers who pay in CBDC tokens.<\/p>\n

The media outlet added that the deal will let individuals use the e-CNY to remit funds to students.<\/p>\n

It claimed that the new solution was being developed \u201cunder the guidance of the\u201d Digital Currency Research Institute, the PBoC\u2019s CBDC arm.<\/p>\n

The companies will work on an initial pilot involving a select group of customers, with a wider rollout to follow at an unspecified later date.<\/p>\n

A Thunes official said that the deal would help it provide its clients with \u201cmore interactive multi-currency and cross-border settlement services.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June, Thunes announced the launch of a Mainland China branch in Beijing, to \u201cbetter support its business development\u201d in the nation.<\/p>\n

Chinese allies such as Russia have previously claimed that their own CBDC projects may be \u201ccompatible\u201d with the e-CNY.<\/p>\n

Beijing has, however, thus far remained tight-lipped on the matter.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n