HSBC launched RedCoin (RCHKD), its first stablecoin, on October 23, bringing a Hong Kong dollar-denominated token to its PayMe payments app. The bank says more than 3.3 million PayMe users will be able to activate an in-app stablecoin wallet over the coming days.

The rollout supports transfers to friends and family and payments at more than 100,000 merchants through PayMe. Those figures describe the app's existing user base and merchant reach, not the number of people already holding or spending RedCoin.

A licensed retail rollout

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted stablecoin issuer licences to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial on April 10, 2026. HSBC's announcement identifies its stablecoin issuer licence as FRS02 and says HSBC Digital Assets Custody provides safekeeping services for RedCoin.

Before launch, staff pilots involving nearly 100 users tested minting, wallet activation and live transfers. The public release moves the product from those trials into an established consumer payments channel, rather than requiring users to begin with a separate exchange account.

Investment access remains planned

HSBC plans to add stablecoin wallet functionality to its Hong Kong mobile banking app later this year. It also intends to let customers use RedCoin to subscribe to tokenized investments, including a forthcoming share class of its existing Hong Kong dollar money market fund.

Those investment features are not part of the announced initial payment rollout. The immediate development is narrower: a licensed bank-issued stablecoin is entering everyday peer-to-peer and merchant payments through an app with an existing retail audience.