China-Led mBridge Cross-Border Payment Platform Prepares for Commercialization, Fees at Half of Swift

According to Financial Times, China-led mBridge cross-border digital currency platform is preparing for commercialization, with participation from People's Bank of China, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and central banks of Thailand, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. An operational entity will be established in Hong Kong to handle day-to-day operations.

Transaction fees are expected to be approximately half those of traditional international payment systems like Swift, targeting small and medium enterprises unable to afford high cross-border payment costs. The platform, based on blockchain technology, enables central banks to transact directly in domestic digital currencies, compressing foreign exchange settlement time to seconds and reducing reliance on the US dollar as an intermediary currency. The platform has cumulatively processed roughly 47 billion yuan (about $6.9 billion) in transactions to date.