Chinese government-issued digital currency spending over 100 Nearly $14 billion by the end of August exceeded 1 billion yuan, according to the country’s monetary authorities. As Beijing continues to expand its pilot areas, more than 5 million merchants across 15 regions in China now accept digital renminbi.
People’s Bank of China reports 360 million digital currency payments
Transactions with China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) 100 billion yuan ($13.9 billion) as of Aug. 31, 2022, will rise from about 88 billion yuan by the end of 2021, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said Wednesday. The spending included 360 million transactions, Reuters reported, citing monetary policy officials.
The data has been made public as the monetary authority of the world’s most populous country advances the rollout of the digital yuan (e-CNY) and continually expands the scope of its trials. CBDC has been implemented in 15 provinces and cities, with 5.6 million merchants currently accepting the digital version of the Chinese yuan.
The pilot area saw about 30 rounds of e-CNY subsidies this year. Often distributed in red envelope campaigns, such as the $4.5 million digital yuan handed out in Shanghai last spring. These initiatives aim to stimulate consumption, combat the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and promote low-carbon transport, the PBOC said.
While the digital yuan has so far been used primarily for domestic and retail payments, Beijing has The central bank has also indicated that it plans to introduce an issue. He also hopes to connect the company’s platform to traditional digital payment systems such as Alipay and Wechat Pay, which has recently been sought to expand various use case scenarios.
There are also plans to expand cross-border payments via electronic renminbi. The People’s Bank of China recently participated in testing international payments with several CBDCs, along with monetary authorities in Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. This is a project coordinated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
Steps have been taken to connect the digital yuan infrastructure to Hong Kong’s local digital payment system. China’s special administrative region is preparing to trial its own CBDC. The pilot phase of the digital Hong Kong dollar, called e-HKD, is expected to start by the end of the year, following public consultation on the matter.
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