The short answer
HSBC RedCoin (ticker RCHKD) is a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin (a digital token worth one Hong Kong dollar, backed by a reserve) issued by HSBC under a Hong Kong Monetary Authority licence. It went live in the PayMe app on 23 October 2026. PayMe's 3.3 million+ users can send it to each other and spend it at 100,000+ merchants. It can't leave HSBC's own apps, it pays no interest and it isn't covered by deposit protection. There's no business version yet.
- HKD 81.0 million in circulation on 26 October 2026, against HKD 82.0 million of reserves held in cash (HSBC, daily figures).
- 2 of 36 applicants got a Hong Kong stablecoin issuer licence in the first round (HKMA, 10 April 2026).
What HSBC launched on 23 October
RedCoin is HSBC's first stablecoin. The HKMA granted HSBC the licence (number FRS02) on 10 April 2026, and the coin went live six months later.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Issuer | The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, licensed stablecoin issuer FRS02 |
| Currency | Hong Kong dollars, redeemable 1:1 |
| Where you get it | PayMe by HSBC now; HSBC HK Mobile Banking App "later this year" |
| What you can do with it | Send it to other PayMe users; pay any business that takes PayMe |
| Coming later | Buying tokenised funds with it, starting with a new share class of HSBC's HKD money market fund; "wholesale corporate and institutional use cases" |
| Interest | None |
| Deposit protection | None. RedCoin is "NOT a protected deposit" (HSBC) |
Before launch, HSBC ran a staff pilot with nearly 100 users, covering minting, wallet activation and live transfers. The roll-out is phased: PayMe users get the option to activate a wallet "in the coming days".
The early numbers are the most useful fact so far. HSBC publishes circulation every day. On 26 October 2026, HKD 81.0 million was in circulation, of which HKD 79.7 million had been added in the previous seven days. Before launch week the total was about HKD 1.3 million. That is under HKD 25 per PayMe user. Not every user has a wallet yet, so read it as a start, not as demand.
RedCoin can't leave HSBC's apps
Most people hear "stablecoin" and think of USDC or USDT: a token you can send to any wallet or exchange. RedCoin isn't that.
HSBC's terms say RedCoin is an ERC-20 token on a permissioned Hyperledger Besu network that HSBC runs, where "only allowlisted participant nodes can join". Your coins sit in an omnibus wallet (one shared wallet for all customers) whose private key HSBC holds. The wallet you see in PayMe shows your share of it. You can't send RedCoin to an exchange or to your own wallet. You can't move it between your PayMe wallet and your HSBC HK App wallet either, because those are two separate wallets.
That design is deliberate. The HKMA requires licensed issuers to check who holds their coins and to monitor transactions with blockchain analytics. A closed network makes both easy. It also explains HSBC's warning on its RedCoin page: any "HSBC stablecoin" offered outside PayMe or the HSBC HK App is a scam.
In practice, RedCoin today works like a PayMe balance recorded on a blockchain and backed by a reserve held in trust. What matters is what that allows later: buying tokenised funds, or companies settling with each other at any hour.
Businesses that take PayMe don't need to change anything
If your business accepts PayMe, customers can already pay you with RedCoin. HSBC says payers "don't need to check" whether a merchant accepts it. A merchant that needs cash gets Hong Kong dollars: HSBC redeems the payer's coins and makes a normal payment (the terms, as read by DeFiprime).
So for a café, a shop or a tutor taking PayMe, nothing changes this month. No new account and no new checks. HSBC hasn't published anything aimed at merchants: no RedCoin terms for PayMe for Business, no settlement benefit, no price change.
A stablecoin wallet is not a bank account
This is the distinction people mix up most easily, because the same bank stands behind both.
| HSBC Business Direct account | RedCoin wallet in PayMe | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A bank deposit | A claim on a stablecoin reserve |
| Deposit protection | Hong Kong Deposit Protection Scheme, up to HKD 800,000 | None |
| Interest | On savings and time deposits | None: HSBC keeps the reserve income |
| Who it's for | Hong Kong-registered companies | PayMe users who meet HSBC's eligibility criteria |
| Getting money out | Transfers by FPS, CHATS or SWIFT | Redeem to HKD in the same app, "instantaneously (and in any case within one business day)", after any fees |
| Cost to open | HKD 1,300, plus a HKD 10,000 deposit | Not published |
The reserve is the part to understand. A trustee, HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Asia), holds RedCoin's reserve for holders. HSBC must keep it worth at least the value of all coins in circulation.
On 26 October all HKD 82.0 million of the reserve was cash. According to DeFiprime's reading of the terms, if HSBC failed, the trustee would have an unsecured claim against HSBC for the cash part. That's a smaller protection than "fully backed" suggests. It's also not unusual: a stablecoin's protection is only as good as the place its reserve sits. The first independent attestation of the reserve is due after the fourth quarter of 2026.
Hong Kong will have few stablecoins, and banks are running them
The Stablecoins Ordinance came into force on 1 August 2025. By the deadline of 30 September 2025, 36 firms had applied for an issuer licence. Two got one on 10 April 2026: HSBC, and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT and Animoca Brands.
Anchorpoint launched its HKDAP coin on 12 August 2026 for institutions and professional investors only. It aims for retail use "as early as the end of 2026" (Reuters). That makes RedCoin the first licensed stablecoin that ordinary Hong Kong users can hold.
The HKMA has been clear that this won't open up much. On 10 April its chief executive wrote that "the licensing threshold will remain high". If more licences come, "the overall number will remain very limited". So the HKD stablecoins a Hong Kong business meets in the next year or two will come from banks, or from companies backed by banks.
Our view: it won't help a business its bank has turned down
Founders who struggle to open an account sometimes hope stablecoins will get them around the bank. RedCoin shows why that won't happen in Hong Kong.
The issuer is the bank. The bank checks who holds every coin. The coin moves only inside the bank's apps. If HSBC wouldn't open your company's account, it won't hand your company a RedCoin wallet either, and today it doesn't offer company wallets at all.
Where RedCoin may matter for businesses is later, and HSBC hasn't given a date. HSBC says it will "soon" add "wholesale corporate and institutional use cases". The HKMA's list of uses for the first issuers starts with cross-border payments. A Hong Kong dollar that settles on a Sunday between two companies with HSBC accounts would be useful for trading companies. Until HSBC publishes terms for companies, that remains a plan.
What the data can't show yet: how many users activated a wallet, and what wallet limits and redemption fees apply. Nor whether the circulation figure is lasting use or a spike helped by PayMe's launch discounts and RewardCash.
Who already offers business accounts and stablecoins in Hong Kong
Of 296 providers on Finzil, 35 hold a Hong Kong licence or registration. 18 are money service operators (licensed to send money and change currency, but not to take deposits) licensed by Customs and Excise, 14 are HKMA-licensed banks, and Airwallex holds an HKMA stored value facility licence. Only 2 of the 35 describe a stablecoin service in their own documents: Reap and Stable (Finzil, October 2026).
| Provider | Licensed in Hong Kong as | What it publishes |
|---|---|---|
| HSBC Hong Kong | Licensed bank (HKMA) | Business Direct: HKD and 11 other currencies under one number. HKD 200 a month, waived at an average balance of HKD 100,000. Owners abroad should expect a video call or meeting |
| ZA Bank | Virtual bank (HKMA) | App-opened account for companies, partnerships and sole proprietors registered in Hong Kong, 11 currencies. Companies run from abroad go through a relationship manager and pay HKD 10,000 to apply |
| Statrys | Money service operator | Free account in 11 currencies for Hong Kong, Singapore and BVI companies. Refuses crypto, gambling and payment businesses |
| Airwallex | Stored value facility (HKMA) and money service operator | Local account details in 15 currencies and Visa cards. Accepts companies from 69 countries |
| Reap | Money service operator | Stablecoin business account funded in USDC or USDT, Visa corporate cards, supplier payments in 18 currencies. 0.5% plus USD 0–5 per local payment. No account number in the company's name |
What businesses can do now
- If you take PayMe: nothing to set up. Customers paying with RedCoin reach you the same way. Keep an eye on PayMe for Business notices for any RedCoin terms for merchants.
- If you hold company money: don't move company money into a personal RedCoin wallet. It isn't a business account, it isn't deposit-protected and the terms are written for individuals.
- If you want to pay suppliers in stablecoins now: RedCoin can't do it. Look at accounts that publish stablecoin funding and payouts, such as Reap in Hong Kong, and read who they accept.
- If you're a Hong Kong company without a working account: sort the account first. A bank or a licensed money service operator that accepts your ownership and industry matters more than which coin arrives later.
- If you run a crypto or payments business: expect HSBC's corporate RedCoin, when it comes, to follow HSBC's normal account checks. A wallet won't replace a bank relationship.
Questions people ask
What is HSBC RedCoin? HSBC RedCoin (RCHKD) is a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin issued by HSBC under HKMA licence FRS02. It launched in the PayMe app on 23 October 2026 and can be redeemed 1:1 for Hong Kong dollars.
Can businesses use HSBC RedCoin? Not as holders yet. Businesses that accept PayMe can receive payments that customers make with RedCoin, and HSBC says it will add corporate and institutional uses "soon" without giving a date (October 2026).
Is HSBC RedCoin protected like a bank deposit? No. HSBC states that RedCoin is not a protected deposit and isn't covered by Hong Kong's Deposit Protection Scheme. It is backed by a reserve held in trust, which was HKD 82.0 million in cash on 26 October 2026.
Can I send RedCoin to a crypto exchange or my own wallet? No. RedCoin runs on HSBC's own permissioned network and can only be held and moved inside PayMe and, later, the HSBC HK App. It can't be moved between those two apps either.
How many Hong Kong stablecoin licences are there? Two, granted on 10 April 2026 to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, out of 36 first-round applicants. The HKMA has said any further licences will be "very limited".
Sources: HSBC, "HSBC RedCoin launches today", 23 October 2026; hsbc.com.hk/stablecoins (circulation and reserves as of 26 October 2026) and the HSBC RedCoin Terms and Conditions; DeFiprime, "HSBC launches RedCoin on PayMe with permissioned transfers", 23 October 2026; HKMA inSight by Eddie Yue, 10 April 2026; Reuters, 12 August 2026; provider profiles on Finzil, checked October 2026. General information, not financial or legal advice.
Providers in this article
Business accounts licensed in Hong Kong
Banks, money service operators and a stablecoin account named in this article. Read who each one accepts before applying.
| Provider | Licensed in | Known for |
|---|---|---|
 HSBC Hong KongBank |  | 12 currenciesBig bank |
 ZA BankBank | | Virtual bank11 currencies |
 StatrysMoney service operator |  | Hong Kong accountFree account |
 AirwallexE-money institution |    | Global accountsOnline businesses |
 ReapStablecoin payments and card issuer |  | StablecoinsCards |
Not sure which one fits? Your profile ranks them for your business, with the reason behind each.
