Standard Chartered (Hong Kong) Has Been Issuing Banknotes Since 1862

The banknote-issuing policy in Hong Kong is quite peculiar. Although not unique globally (Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Macau have similar policies), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority—Hong Kong’s “central bank”—authorises commercial banks to issue their own banknotes. Over time, a total of eight banks have had the privilege of issuing their own currency in the territory.

Since 1994, only three commercial banks have held this privilege: Standard Chartered (Hong Kong), the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (better known as HSBC), and the Bank of China (Hong Kong).

Although it was not the first bank to issue banknotes in Hong Kong—that honour goes to the now-defunct Oriental Bank Corporation—Standard Chartered (Hong Kong) is the oldest of the three current note-issuing banks, having continuously issued currency since 1862.

Despite Standard Chartered (Hong Kong) being the oldest bank to still issue banknotes in the city, it accounted for only 10% of Hong Kong’s banknotes in circulation as of 2020. Standard Chartered (Hong Kong)—alongside HSBC and the Bank of China (Hong Kong)—issued its latest series of banknotes in 2018 in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 Hong Kong dollars; the 10-dollar banknote, meanwhile, has been issued directly by the HKMA since 2002.

In September 2009, to celebrate its 150th anniversary of presence in Hong Kong, Standard Chartered (Hong Kong) issued the world's first legal tender 150-dollar banknote.