HSBC has begun issuing its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, RedCoin (RCHKD), through the PayMe payments app, giving eligible customers the ability to transfer tokens and pay participating merchants.
The rollout began on 23 October. HSBC says PayMe has more than 3.3 million users and over 100,000 merchants, although wallet activation is continuing over the coming days, meaning those figures represent the service’s potential reach rather than confirmed RedCoin users.
Customers must satisfy PayMe’s eligibility requirements and activate a stablecoin wallet before they can exchange Hong Kong dollars for RedCoin. Under HSBC’s terms, one token is purchased by deducting HK$1 from the customer’s HKD balance within the same channel.
The initial purpose of the token is payments. Once their wallet is active, users can send RedCoin to other PayMe customers who also hold stablecoin wallets. They can also spend their RedCoin balance wherever PayMe is accepted, according to HSBC’s product FAQ, without needing to establish separately whether the merchant accepts RedCoin itself.
However, the stablecoin is not available through third-party platforms. HSBC is distributing it through its own channels, with PayMe currently live and the HSBC HK Mobile Banking App due to follow. RedCoin operates on HSBC’s own distributed-ledger network.
Holders seeking to convert their tokens back into Hong Kong dollars must submit a request through an authorised app. HSBC says the funds will be paid at the token’s face value into the customer’s HKD wallet or account on that same channel, after any applicable fees.
Valid redemption requests must be processed immediately, subject to the relevant conditions, and completed within one business day. The bank can refuse or delay a transaction where wallet limits apply, instructions are incomplete, legal or fraud concerns arise, or circumstances beyond its reasonable control prevent processing.
HSBC says RedCoin is supported by segregated, liquid and high-quality assets. Its reserves are intended to cover all outstanding tokens at all times. The stablecoin does not pay interest and is not covered by Hong Kong’s Deposit Protection Scheme.
Later expansion planned
HSBC plans to introduce a stablecoin wallet within the HSBC HK Mobile Banking App later in 2026. That expansion is expected to allow customers to subscribe to tokenised investment products, including a forthcoming share class of the bank’s HKD money market fund.
Those investment services are described in the product FAQ as “coming soon”. The FAQ also states that RedCoin cannot be transferred between the stablecoin wallets on PayMe and the HSBC HK App.
HSBC’s investment plans therefore remain separate from the current PayMe-based payment service, with users unable to move RedCoin directly between the two planned wallet environments.
