Cross-border renminbi payments exceed 4 trillion yuan in Shenzhen
China DailyChinese 100 yuan banknotes are seen in a counting machine at a bank in Beijing, China. Renminbi transactions between Shenzhen and Hong Kong surged more than one-third on a yearly basis to 3.5 trillion yuan, accounting for about 58.3 percent of the total cross-border currency transactions between the two cities. In cooperation with Octopus Cards Ltd — Hong Kong's major means of transport payment — Shenzhen banks have begun to issue e-CNY wallet cards around checkpoints for Hong Kong visitors, enabling those without mainland bank cards or mobile payment accounts to enjoy digital pay across the border. In 2023, noncash payment transactions made by Hong Kong residents in Shenzhen notched up to over 35 million, with a total amount of 8.58 billion yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 222.45 percent and 70.5 percent, respectively. In total, Hong Kong residents opened about 3 million bank accounts in Shenzhen by the end of last year, with 400,000 of these opened in 2023 alone.