Explainer | What’s the state of China’s digital yuan in 2023?
- Uptake of China’s central bank digital currency is on the rise, with transactions and total value far beyond 2022 levels
- Various applications are being tested or have already been implemented, including integration with international credit cards and payments without electricity
In 2019, China began piloting its central bank digital currency, known as the e-CNY. After a slow start, uptake has accelerated rapidly, with 26 cities serving as test beds and 5.6 million merchants registered to use the currency nationwide as of last year.
Its implementation has gone into overdrive in 2023. Former People’s Bank of China (PBOC) governor Yi Gang said in July that total transactions had reached 950 million with a cumulative value of 1.8 trillion yuan (US$249.9 billion) by the end of June, up from 100 billion yuan (US$13.9 billion) the previous August.
With 120 million wallets opened and its potential utility in expanding the overseas adoption of Chinese currency, countering the risk of Western sanctions and chipping away at US dollar dominance, the digital yuan is poised to see even greater promotion in the years to come.
Here is some of the most recent progress made in that endeavour.
Overseas users get wallet access
From September, foreigners in China can sign up for an e-CNY wallet using their international phone number, top up with their overseas Visa or Mastercard cards, and transfer their wallet balance back to their offshore accounts.
