The Macau government announced yesterday that it has completed the setting-up of the prototype of its digital pataca development project, while the future e-MOP’s functions and applications are now being displayed to members of the public.
The digital pataca is officially known as e-MOP.
The government also published a white paper on e-MOP yesterday, providing details on its e-MOP project, such as the concepts of central bank digital currency (CBDC) as well as the e-MOP’s objectives, potential benefits, positioning, design principles, technical features, and development blueprint.
The future e-MOP will also be Macau’s legal tender, the same as physical money, with zero credit risks.
The pataca is Macau’s sole legal tender.
The local government’s e-MOP project is carried out by the Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM), the city’s quasi-central bank, thanks to technical support from People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) Digital Currency Institute.
The white paper is available in Chinese, Portuguese and English, which can be downloaded from the AMCM website.
The government held a ceremony yesterday marking the completion of the e-MOP prototype’s setting-up and the white paper’s publication. The ceremony, held at the Services Platform Complex for Commercial and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (aka Forum Macao Complex), was hosted by prominent guests such as Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Macau’s first chief executive and now a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa, Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) President Kou Hoi In, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong, AMCM President Benjamin Chan Sau San, Mu Changchun, who heads the PBOC’s Digital Currency Institute, and Liu Jinn, a vice-president of the state-owned Bank of China (BOC).
The future trial issuance and operation of the e-MOP will first be carried out by the BOC Macau Branch, one of the city’s two note-issuing banks, after which the local government would possibly introduce other financial institutions to its e-MOP operation.
According to an AMCM statement, yesterday’s ceremony was also attended by about 200 other guests including representatives from the PBOC, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), various local public entities, local banks and e-payment platforms’ operators, as well as central banks of several Portuguese-speaking countries.
Macau enacted a new law regulating its money issuance last year, according to which Macau’s legal tender encompasses digital currency alongside the traditional forms of currency, namely banknotes and coins, granting digital currency the same legal status as physical money.
During yesterday’s ceremony, Lei delivered a speech, after which Chan gave a brief presentation about the e-MOP white paper.
Lei noted in his speech that the setting-up of the e-MOP prototype has paved an important foundation for the future issuance and operation of digital patacas.
The outgoing policy secretary underlined that in compliance with the nation’s overall development planning, the local government has been committed to accelerating the development of Macau’s digital economy, digital society and digital government by leveraging the new technologies and new commercial models created by digitalisation.
Lei also underlined that the local government has been promoting the applications of fintech with the aim of stimulating Macau’s high-quality economic development.
Lei noted that central banks in various countries are exploring the development of their digital currencies, a policy that not only represents a breakthrough in fintech but also brings new opportunities for global economic development and cooperation, he said.
A central bank digital currency (CBDC), aka digital fiat currency, is a digital currency issued by a central bank rather than by a commercial bank. It is also a liability of the central bank, as is the case with physical banknotes and coins.
Lei noted in his speech that the development of e-MOP aims to enable Macau’s economy to be more strongly connected with the world. He said that the future issuance of the e-MOP will improve the efficiency of payments, promote financial inclusion – i.e., the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services, stimulate digital transformation, and provide faster and safer financial transactions for Macau residents and public and private entities.
The white paper published yesterday notes that the same as the physical pataca, the e-MOP is a liability of the AMCM backed by its sufficient assets. Being a legal tender, the e-MOP has the same legal status and monetary value as the physical pataca.
The e-MOP and the current various mobile payment apps are two different types of payments. After completing their transactions with customers via mobile payment platforms, businesses are still required to settle transactions with banks or other financial institutions before they finally receive the money.
In the future, when using e-MOP, the settlements will be immediately done when the transactions are carried out, identical to the scenario when cash is used, because of which the e-MOP will be a payment with zero credit risks.
The white paper published yesterday underlined that all transactions in e-MOP are settled instantly, which implies that e-MOP fund transfers are irrevocable and completed in real-time to ensure settlement finality. In other words, once a payment is made, the legal ownership of the e-MOP is transferred immediately, as is the case with the physical pataca.
Guests such as Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (centre), Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee Vice Chairman Edmund Ho Hau Wah (fifth from left), Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa (fifth from right), Legislative Assembly (AL) President Kou Hoi In (fourth from left), Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong (third from left) pose for group photos after symbolically marking the completion of the e-MOP prototype’s setting-up, at Forum Macao Complex. – Photo: Tony Wong
A senior staff member of the Bank of China (BOC) Macau Branch (left)yesterday briefs guests such as Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM) President Benjamin Chan Sau San (first from right) about the sample of the e-MOP’s mobile app. – Photo: Tony Wong
