HSBC rolls out its first stablecoin to over 3 million everyday app users

HSBC debuted its first stablecoin, RedCoin, a Hong Kong dollar token that’s being rolled out onto its PayMe app.

The token, which uses the ticker RCHKD, will let customers send money to friends and family and pay at more than 100,000 merchants. PayMe users, of which there are more than 3.3 million, will be able to activate a stablecoin wallet in the app over the coming days, according to the bank.

RedCoin gives HSBC a way to bring stablecoin payments into an app that customers already use. HSBC has said RedCoin will be fully backed by high-quality liquid assets held in separate accounts.

The rollout follows the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's decision to grant its first stablecoin issuer licenses in April to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a Standard Chartered-led venture. Anchorpoint began a limited rollout of its HKDAP token in August, focused on institutional payments and settlement.

“Integrating stablecoins into platforms users already rely on removes the need for a separate wallet or exchange account, and lets people engage with digital assets as part of their existing payment habits,” Vincent Chok, CEO of FDUSD issuer First Digital, said in emailed comments to CoinDesk.

“Over time, that everyday exposure builds familiarity and confidence in stablecoins across the wider market,” Chok added.

HSBC plans to add a RedCoin wallet to its Hong Kong mobile banking app later this year, and is set to let customers use the token to subscribe to tokenized investment products, including a new share class of its existing Hong Kong dollar money market fund.

“We will soon add more products, including expanding into wholesale corporate and institutional use cases,” said John O’Neill, HSBC's managing director for digital assets and currencies.