DBS Becomes Among The First Foreign Banks To Integrate E-CNY

DBS has been testing and leveraging the potential of emerging technologies to generate an efficient and safe payment landscape. The goal of this project is to transform the future of the payment industry.

DBS launches an E-CNY merchant collection solution

In 2021, DBS was behind co-founding Partior, which is an independent company working to transform cross-border payments and the global interbank value movement. The bank has also been participating in different experiments with the same industry players, including Project Orchid.

The project has been spearheaded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to create the infrastructure that is needed to issue a programmable digital Singapore dollar. As part of the exercise that was conducted in 2022, DBS released a live pilot program to issue purpose-bound and money-based vouched against tokenized Singapore dollars.

DBS has also been participating with Project Guardian, which the MAS leads to exploring the settlement of foreign exchange and government securities transactions. The move uses permissioned decentralized finance protocols.

The bank is also part of Project Ubin, which is an industry initiative that has been spearheaded by MAS. The move will also be used to monitor the application of blockchain technology through multi-currency payments and settlements. This project was the launch pad for developing Partior.

The Chief Executive Officer at DBS Bank in China, Ginger Cheng, said, “We received strong interest from several clients for the solution since its launch, and we are pleased to have completed the first e-CNY collection for a client – a catering company in Shenzhen.”

The seamless integration of CBDC collection and settlement methods within the existing payment systems will position the business for a future where consumers across China can use e-CNY to conduct their daily activities. This shows that the company is committed to making banking services easy for its clients.

China’s digital yuan gains adoption

According to DBS, it will be among the first foreign banks in China to have an e-CNY merchant collection solution and close a transaction done with e-CNY for clients. This solution will allow the corporate clients at DBS China to gather payments from customers in the form of e-CNY.

China is among the few countries that have made significant progress with their plans for a CBDC. The CBDC will also support the automated settlement of e-CNY directly to the client’s CNY bank deposit accounts.

The head of Global Transaction Services at DBS Bank, Lim Soon Chong, said that the e-CNY merchant collection solution will strengthen the position of DBS as an innovative platform supporting digital payment solutions. The move will be a major milestone in the company’s vision to support instant and frictionless round-the-clock payments for clients.

The corporate clients at DBS China can adopt the e-CNY merchant collection solution through their relationship managers. They can also enjoy a one-stop onboarding service with point-of-sales upgrades and staff training done jointly by DBS and UnionPay Merchant Services, which is the partner firm that will support the solution.