Hong Kong’s ZA Bank starts offering services to stablecoin issuers

Hong Kong-based digital bank ZA Bank is launching reserve banking services for stablecoin trial platform participants.

Hong Kong’s digital bank ZA Bank has begun offering reserve banking services to stablecoin issuers after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the list of approved participants for its stablecoin testbed initiative.

ZA Bank announced its partnership with RD InnoTech, one of the first companies listed by the HKMA for pilot trials, in a press release on July 18. ZA Bank is also in the process of onboarding approximately ten additional stablecoin clients, although specific details were not provided.

The initiative comes after the HKMA announced the first batch of companies allowed to test fiat-backed stablecoins. These companies are set to explore e-commerce, trade settlement and tokenized assets, though the timeframe for their experiments is unknown.

Alongside RD InnoTech, the first batch includes JD.com subsidiary JINGDONG Coinlink Technology Hong Kong and a consortium including Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecommunications. The consortium plans to leverage the crypto custody services of Zodia Custody, which is partly owned by Standard Chartered, sources familiar with the matter previously told crypto.news.

The HKMA had previously reported receiving more than 100 applications advocating for a stablecoin licensing regime. According to a public consultation, the “vast majority” of the 108 respondents supported regulatory oversight to ensure sustainable growth of the virtual asset sector. HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue stressed the importance of a well-regulated environment to foster responsible and sustainable growth in Hong Kong’s stablecoin ecosystem.