What happened
- Specific facts/numbers: Bank of China said its Shenzhen branch completed a RMB 11.3 billion cross-border outbound payment in June 2026, and its Fujian branch completed an inbound Hong Kong dollar mBridge transaction of more than HKD 10 billion in July 2026, with the bank saying cumulative mBridge transaction value exceeded RMB 600 billion by end-June 2026.
- Institutions involved: Bank of China, the People’s Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, and the Central Bank of the UAE are the key institutions cited in connection with the mBridge platform.
- Regulatory/technical context: mBridge is described as a multi-CBDC cross-border payment infrastructure built on blockchain technology that enables point-to-point settlement and removes layers of correspondent-bank intermediaries, aiming to shorten transfer times and reduce cross-border treasury costs.
- What to watch next: Bank of China said it will continue optimizing its mBridge payment service and expand supported currencies, use cases, and service coverage; no more specific next milestone was identified.
Why it matters
The announcement suggests large-value cross-border payments are moving from pilot-style testing toward more operational corporate treasury use on CBDC-based infrastructure.
HKMA Relevance
Direct: The HKMA is one of the central banks that jointly initiated mBridge, and one of the reported record transactions involved Hong Kong dollars.