Bangkok, Thailand, Oct. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are held in Bangkok, this year's meetings, themed "Empowering People, Building Resilience," have focused in side events and policy dialogues on a multi-track path for future forms of money — the long-term coexistence of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), compliant digital payment instruments, tokenized bank deposits, and traditional bank money. The key lies in interconnectivity, reducing cross-border settlement frictions, and building trust.
Against this backdrop, CodeCoin co-hosted a side event with the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee (RBWC), BRICS Thailand, and the Centre for Business Technology & Innovation (CBIT) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Representatives from financial regulators, international banking institutions, and the digital payment ecosystem gathered to discuss how licensed digital payment instruments can serve as auditable, spendable, and neutral clearing rails that truly connect to global merchant networks, responding to the Annual Meetings' core discussions on multi-rail interoperability and trust infrastructure.
In his keynote address, Benny Wong, Founder and CEO of CodeCoin, emphasized that real payment services rest on a foundation of trust built on multi-jurisdiction licensing, fund segregation, and auditability. CodeCoin is committed to building neutral clearing rails that connect global and emerging markets, integrating licensed digital payment instruments into the Visa network to provide an auditable and spendable path for cross-border settlement and everyday consumption. Global annual transaction volume of compliant digital payment instruments has surpassed US$72.5 trillion. With regulatory frameworks now fully implemented across more than 40 jurisdictions — including the United States, Hong Kong, and the EU's MiCA — and surging demand from 1.3 billion unbanked people worldwide and smart payment needs, licensed digital payment instruments are entering a critical window of opportunity. Compliant digital payment infrastructure will become a core driver of smart payment applications and the future of digital finance.Artificial intelligence was the most prominent cross-cutting theme of this year's Annual Meetings. AI was framed as both a "double-edged sword" and a major growth engine, with discussions covering smart payment applications, structural impacts on labor markets, and how practical AI applications can benefit more people. Smart payment applications require programmable, real-time settleable, and auditable monetary rails — licensed digital payment instruments combined with real-time Visa settlement provide the underlying payment infrastructure for smart payment scenarios.
Two roundtable forums were held at the event. One focused on "How Innovative Payment Technologies Can Support Smart Payment Scenarios," and the other on "Sovereign Digital Payment Instrument Selection and Settlement Ecosystem Trends." Participants explored the practical value of compliant digital payment instruments in payment efficiency, liquidity provision, and reducing intermediary costs, especially in cross-border and corporate transactions. Guests and attendees engaged in constructive dialogue on the coexistence of multiple forms of money, regulatory clarity, interoperability, and points of trust. CodeCoin also prepared a product launch in parallel with the roundtables, closing the loop between policy discussion and implementable solutions.
In addition, CodeCoin and the Centre for Business Technology & Innovation (CBIT) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University jointly released the "Southeast Asia Fintech Policy Green Paper." The Green Paper systematically maps the regulatory landscape and strategic pathways for value capture across ASEAN, offering decision-making reference for the industry in an environment where regulatory lag and innovation opportunities coexist, and further deepening dialogue between academia and industry.
This year's Annual Meetings repeatedly emphasized resilience, buffers, trust, and fraud prevention. CodeCoin has always regarded security and compliance as the prerequisite for scaling digital finance. CodeCoin has built a multi-jurisdiction licensed operating system, officially holds a digital payment instrument issuer license from the AIFC in Kazakhstan, and is steadily advancing the compliant issuance of its self-developed compliant digital payment instrument CUSD. License coverage in major global markets is already in place. The underlying technical architecture incorporates quantum encryption as a long-term security supplement, building post-quantum defenses for digital payment asset storage, settlement, and cross-border transmission.
On the product side, the newly launched CodeCoin consumer card—operating on the Visa network— enables users to top up and settle in real time with CUSD (compatible with mainstream compliant digital payment instruments) directly in the app, bind Apple Pay and Google Pay with one click, and spend seamlessly online and at tens of millions of merchants worldwide that accept Visa. This effectively connects the digital payment rail to the Visa network, validating the feasibility of licensed digital payment instruments as everyday payment infrastructure. The launch event also introduced a triple cardholder benefits package, including a gift package worth up to US$1,000, up to 8% cashback on prepaid spending, and monthly lucky draws.
At the event, CodeCoin announced a card product technology integration partnership with fintech company Dune Fintech, enabling partners to rapidly gain the ability to deliver digital payment assets into global payment use cases (supporting the Visa network). CodeCoin also signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Tiger Brokers and Dragon Rise Group to deepen cooperation on compliant clearing of digital payment assets, digital payment asset-backed lending, and the connection between traditional finance and the digital payment ecosystem.This launch marks a new stage in the practical implementation of the "licensed digital payment instrument + compliant clearing + global payment capability supporting the Visa network" pathway, offering a tangible paradigm for the global digital payment ecosystem and financial inclusion. CodeCoin will continue to act as an industry practitioner and participant in the discussion, working with all parties to build bridges rather than barriers, and to enable digital payments to truly serve the real economy and inclusive finance.
About CodeCoin
CodeCoin is a Hong Kong-based global blockchain payment hub dedicated to building compliant, stable, and efficient multi-currency payment infrastructure for digital assets and global business settlement.
Follow & Connect with Us:
Website: https://www.codecoinx.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/codecoinhk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codecoin.x
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CodeCoinx
emmanueluzan, emmanueluzan@codecoin.hk