China-dominated central bank digital currency platform touts largest transactions to date
Bank of China uses mBridge for two cross-border transfers worth more than US$1.7 billion each, as CBDC platform gathers momentum
A leading Chinese bank has processed the largest cross-border transactions yet via mBridge, a multilateral central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform, marking a major milestone for the emerging payment network as well as Beijing’s global yuan ambitions.
Two transactions, worth more than US$1.7 billion each, were carried out by the Bank of China’s Shenzhen and Fujian branches in June and July, respectively. They showed mBridge’s ability to support high-value cross-border settlements across different currencies and business scenarios, according to the lender.
In June, an outbound transfer of 11.3 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) delivered same-day, full-value funds to a corporate client via the network – which comprises central banks from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Thailand.
The following month, an inbound transaction in Hong Kong dollars moved from an overseas sender to an onshore corporate account in under 60 minutes. The bank said this transaction set the record for the largest transaction on the platform since its inception, but did not specify the amount.
The landmark transfers signal China’s broader strategic effort to construct alternative cross-border clearing rails, accelerating the internationalisation of the Chinese currency while bypassing traditional, Western-centric financial networks.
The mBridge project seeks to reshape cross-border payments by using blockchain technology to enable faster settlement through CBDCs. Unlike traditional international payment channels, which rely on chains of intermediary banks, incurring high fees and settlement delays, mBridge enables direct, peer-to-peer settlement.