HSBC launches HKD stablecoin RedCoin on PayMe

HSBC launched RedCoin, its first Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, on PayMe on October 23, with wallets rolling out to more than 3.3 million users for transfers and merchant payments. The bank says its launch announcement identifies the coin by ticker RCHKD and says it is licensed and regulated by Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority.

For you as a PayMe user, the initial offer is built around familiar payments: send RedCoin to friends and family, or pay participating merchants in the app. HSBC says the network includes more than 100,000 merchants. Wallet activation is expected to become available over the days following the launch, rather than to all users at once.

What can PayMe users do with RedCoin?

At launch, RedCoin is for person-to-person transfers and payments to merchants through PayMe. HSBC says staff pilots with nearly 100 users tested the process, including minting, wallet activation and live transfers.

The coin is denominated in HKD. That gives PayMe users a stablecoin tied to the local currency, rather than one designed to track the US dollar. HSBC says its digital assets custody service safeguards RedCoin. The bank’s announcement does not describe the underlying blockchain or explain the wallet’s transaction mechanics in detail.

The launch also puts a regulated stablecoin inside a mainstream consumer payment app. The Block’s report on the rollout notes that HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial received Hong Kong’s first stablecoin issuer licences in April 2026. The two companies are among the first to bring licensed HKD stablecoins to market under the city’s framework.

What is HSBC planning to add next?

HSBC plans to add RedCoin wallet features to its Hong Kong mobile banking app later this year. It also plans to let customers use the coin to subscribe to tokenised investment products, including a new share class of the bank’s HKD money market fund. Those services are planned additions; the bank has not given a launch date for them.

HSBC says it also intends to expand RedCoin into wholesale corporate and institutional uses. That would take the coin beyond retail payments, but the announcement gives no timing or product details for that expansion.

For now, watch for wallet access to roll out across PayMe and for HSBC to announce when RedCoin can be used in its banking app. The next clear signal is whether the planned investment features arrive later this year, as the bank says.

Source material

• its launch announcement — about.hsbc.com.hk
• report on the rollout — theblock.co