Pilot moves beyond conventional hours
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on 2 November that EnsembleTX, the pilot phase of Project Ensemble, now supports 24/7 interbank settlement of tokenised-deposit transactions in tokenised central bank money. Participation has expanded to 12 banks and 20 industry pioneers. The controlled pilot previously relied on Hong Kong’s real-time gross settlement system for transactions involving tokenised deposits and digital assets during its operating framework.
Treasury and fund use cases are in scope
HKMA said the upgraded capability is intended to help scale tokenised transactions beyond conventional operating hours. Existing pilot activity includes corporate treasury management and tokenised money-market-fund transactions. The authority is working with Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission on the surrounding market infrastructure. This remains a pilot for approved participants, not a general-purpose retail payment rail or an assurance that every proposed tokenised product is commercially available.
What it means for merchants
Corporate treasurers and payment firms should watch whether participating banks turn the pilot into usable cash-management products with clear cut-off, liquidity and redemption terms. Around-the-clock settlement can reduce timing mismatches, but merchants still need legal certainty, operational support and a reliable path back to ordinary bank money before treating tokenised deposits as working cash.
Read the original announcement
Hong Kong Monetary Authority · 2 Nov 2026This brief summarizes the linked primary source. Claims and reported figures have not been independently audited by Payment Guide.