Hong Kong has no plan to replace physical currency with e-dollar

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is set to implement the digital Hong Kong dollar and will start the preparation work in the next quarter. It has stressed, however, that it is not planning to have the e-dollar replace the physical currency. The HKMA said it has examined the prospect of issuing the e-HKD in Hong Kong from both the technical and policy perspectives. Colin Pou Hak-wan, executive director for financial infrastructure at the HKMA, said that the Legal Tender Notes Issue Ordinance does not cover digital currency and the HKMA will spend six months to one year to explore the need to amend it or draft new legislation to provide a legal basis for the e-HKD. Pou said it might take years before moving to the final stage of deploying the issuance of the e-dollar.