HSBC Rolls Out First Stablecoin in PayMe App
The Hong Kong dollar token RCHKD is meant to make payments and transfers possible in PayMe, under HKMA oversight. HSBC also wants to link the stablecoin to tokenized investment products later on.
Key Takeaways
- HSBC is rolling out its first stablecoin, RedCoin, in the PayMe app in Hong Kong.
- PayMe users can activate a stablecoin wallet to pay at more than 100,000 merchants and send money.
- Hong Kong has issued licenses for stablecoin issuers this year, and HSBC also wants to add a RedCoin wallet to its mobile banking app later.
HSBC has started rolling out its first stablecoin, RedCoin, in the PayMe app in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong dollar token, with ticker RCHKD, is meant to let users pay at more than 100,000 merchants and send money to friends and family.
Rollout in PayMe
According to the bank, PayMe users, of whom there are more than 3.3 million, can activate a stablecoin wallet in the app over the next few days. With that, HSBC is bringing stablecoin payments directly into an app that many customers already use every day.
HSBC says RedCoin is fully backed by high-quality liquid assets held in separate accounts. That fits with the stricter rules in Hong Kong, where the regulator issued the first licenses for stablecoin issuers this year.
Hong Kong Takes Another Step Forward
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority gave the first stablecoin issuer licenses in April to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a venture led by Standard Chartered. Anchorpoint already began a limited rollout of its HKDAP token in August, focused on institutional payments and settlement.
Since August 2025, the regulator has introduced a licensing regime for fiat-backed stablecoins under the Stablecoins Ordinance. Issuers must, among other things, maintain full reserve backing with high-quality, liquid assets. The HKMA also received 36 applications, showing there is strong interest in Hong Kong's regulated stablecoin market.
Why This Matters
For European crypto readers, this move shows how big banks are trying to build stablecoins into existing payment apps instead of separate crypto wallets. That could matter for how regulated stablecoins are used outside Hong Kong as well. HSBC also wants to add a RedCoin wallet to its mobile banking app in Hong Kong later this year and use the token for subscriptions to tokenized investment products, including a new class of its Hong Kong dollar money market fund.
Attention is also shifting elsewhere in banking toward integration into existing payment flows. Stablecoins Are Gaining Ground Among Companies and Banks explains how financial institutions increasingly want to build stablecoin services directly into their existing workflows.
