China’s central bank has launched pilot versions of its digital yuan wallet application on mobile phone app stores in a bid to expand its usage to more people in the country.
The “e-CNY (Pilot Version)” app was developed by the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) digital currency research institute and is available for download on Chinese Android and Apple app stores.
In April 2021, China announced that it would be launching its own digital form of currency for its citizens, and this cyber yuan stands to give Beijing power to track spending in real-time, plus money that isn’t linked to the dollar-dominated global financial system.
Unlike Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, the digital yuan lacks anonymity and non-traceable nature. It’ll however offer a transparent perspective of the economy to the nation. According to a report by TOI, China’s digital currency has been in development since 2014, right after bitcoin started to gain popularity in the nation.
China even said that the Digital Yuan could be used by foreign athletes and visitors at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics taking place in China in February 2022.
This new app has not yet officially been rolled out nationally and it will only allow users in ten areas including major cities Shanghai and Beijing. Previously only select users could use the app on an invitation basis. But now everyone can download the app, highlighting how China is trying to get more people to use the digital currency.
As a new payment method, the digital yuan will face stiff competition from similar digital payment apps like Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat.
