Macau, China, May 13, 2025 (Lusa) - Macau's secretary for economy and finance said on Tuesday that he intends to finalise the digital pataca system in 2025 and use it as a commercial settlement instrument for transactions between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
"We hope that the digital pataca can be used as one of the digital instruments for Portuguese-speaking countries, commercial transactions, and Sino-Portuguese transactions," said Anton Tai Kin Ip.
In response to questions from lawmakers during the Legislative Assembly session, the local parliament, the secretary confirmed that the central digital currency system should be finalised by the end of 2025, followed by a series of technical tests.
"The first implementation phase will focus on retail transactions before expanding to wholesale applications," Tai said. “Subsequently, we intend to move out of Macau to connect to the Portuguese-speaking platform,” he added.
In 2003, Beijing established Macau as a platform for the Portuguese-speaking bloc and created the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries in the region.
A delegation led by Tai Kin Ip visited Lisbon in early March and met with officials from the Bank of Portugal, including board director Luís Morais Sarmento.
At the end of March, the secretary's office said the various meetings served to "negotiate the consolidation and deepening of cooperation between Macau and Portugal in the areas of science, technology, economy and trade".
Tai Kin Ip told lawmakers today that he would continue to visit more Portuguese-speaking countries to seek support for using the digital pataca.
The secretary promised to use the digital pataca as a currency that will circulate freely across Macau's borders, an economy open to the flow of capital.
In contrast, the Chinese currency, the renminbi, is not fully convertible into other currencies, and the Beijing authorities impose strict controls on the flow of capital, especially out of the country.
Trade between Portuguese-speaking countries and China reached US$225.2 billion (€216.6 billion) last year, 2% more than in 2023, according to data from the Chinese Customs Service.
The prototype of Macau's digital pataca (e-Mop) system was launched on 12 December, eight days before the end of the term of the previous government leader, Ho Iat Seng.
In September, the region's then financial regulator said that the digital pataca could "serve as an example for Portuguese-speaking countries".
The president of the Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM), Benjamin Chan Sau San, spoke during the second Conference of Central Bank Governors and Financial Officials between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, which was held in Macau.
At the opening of the event, Ho Iat Seng said that the development of e-MOP had the support of the government and the central bank of China, which was the first major economy in the world to launch a digital currency, the digital renminbi or e-CNY, in August 2020.
In September, the AMCM explained that, before the official launch of the digital pataca, it would conduct tests to identify risks and "establish laws and regulations".
The regulator stressed that, unlike private cryptocurrencies (the best known of which is Bitcoin), the e-Mop will be "legal tender", with the same legal status and monetary value as physical pataca coins and notes.
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