Visa has disclosed the findings of a pilot test of tokenised deposits for B2B payments with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank as part of trials of an e-HK CBDC programme.
Via was one of sixteen firms selected by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in May to test potential use cases for a central bank digital currency.
For its trial, Visa along with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank focused on simulating two use cases of interbank B2B payment flows — property payments and acquirer-merchant settlement - each tailored to the Hong Kong market. Visa says the pilot demonstrated the potential benefits of tokenised deposits for B2B payments in terms of payment speed, settlement risk control, network resilience, and transaction transparency.
Nischint Sanghavi, head of digital currencies, Asia Pacific, Visa says: “Through the pilot programme, Visa has highlighted various potential benefits for the deployment of CBDCs, such as quicker settlements, a more seamless payment experience for high-value transactions, better transparency, as well as other benefits that come with an ‘always-on’ infrastructure. Our involvement in piloting actual use cases delivered pivotal learnings that are not only paramount to the possible implementation of the hypothetical e-HKD but can also help shape the future of the payment ecosystem.”
He says the tests showed that tokenised deposits could be an alternative means for high-value, time-sensitive transactions, such as those of property payments, as it presents a secure method of payment with a potential to reduce settlement risks. In addition, employing tokenised deposits as a mechanism for facilitating the settlement process between a card acquirer and their merchants could become a "transformative" B2B payment method. Major advantages cited include increased transparency and quicker settlement of high-value transactions.