Hong Kong opens digital yuan wallets in a first for non-mainlanders

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong has become the first city outside mainland China to allow local residents to open digital wallets with e-CNY, or digital yuan, marking another step in the internationalization of China's digital currency.

"This is not just an ordinary digital wallet, but one backed by the People's Bank of China," said Howard Lee, deputy chief executive at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city's de facto central bank. "One e-CNY is equal in value to one yuan."