The Bank of Communications' Macao branch on Tuesday completed two mBridge transactions: a cross-border remittance in digital pataca, or e-MOP, for Macao Industrial Ltd, and a 500-million-yuan ($73.8 million) cross-border collection in digital yuan for Far East Horizon Ltd. The transactions mark a breakthrough in the application of mBridge in Macao.
Project mBridge aims to explore a multi-central bank digital currency, or CBDC, platform shared among participating central banks and commercial banks, built on distributed ledger technology to enable instant cross-border payments and settlement, the Bank for International Settlements said.
The platform focuses on building cross-border interoperability for central bank digital currencies and establish direct peer-to-peer settlement links between CBDCs across different jurisdictions. By doing so, it significantly shortens cross-border settlement cycles and effectively reduces transaction fees.
The Monetary Authority of Macao officially launched trading on the mBridge platform on Tuesday allowing three of the 11 banks authorized in the first batch to immediately conduct a total of 23 cross-border mBridge transactions covering trade settlement, cross-border remittances and other services. This marks a key step forward for Macao in the cross-border application of CBDCs.
BOCOM Macao Branch joined the first cohort of banks approved by the regulator to participate in the project on Monday. As a major State-owned commercial bank with a longstanding presence in Macao, BOCOM Macao Branch's early access to mBridge provides local clients with more efficient and lower-cost cross-border fund settlement services.
BOCOM said it will seize the opportunity presented through its participation in Project mBridge to leverage its integrated global service network and further expand the application of the platform across a wide range of scenarios, including cross-border settlement, trade finance and cross-border capital pooling.
The bank also aims to tap deeper opportunities arising from China-Portugal economic and trade cooperation, support the development of a secure, efficient, open and inclusive cross-border digital financial ecosystem, and contribute to stronger China-Portugal economic ties and the high-quality development of the digital finance industry in China's Macao Special Administrative Region.
