Some of the top Chinese conglomerates have already joined hands with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) in testing the country’s own CBDC, Digital Yuan. As per the latest CNBC report, Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has already started paying certain employees in Digital Yuan.
This comes as the PBoC looks to extend the scope of using the Digital Yuan across the nation. China has been accelerating the use of its CBDC over the last few months as it aims to replace the coins and cash in circulation within the economy, although not entirely. However, the initial focus remains on pushing the use of Digital Yuan in the domestic market and then internationally.
Currently, the Chinese central bank is conducting several pilot projects and trials across the country. The PBoC is also distributing Digital Yuan domestically either through lotteries to test the initial usage and response from the users.
On Sunday, April 25, JD.com said that it has collaborated with the PBoC for some trials. Besides, it also said that it considered paying salaries for some of its employees in Digital Yuan during January 2021. The e-commerce giant also revealed that it used PBoC’s Digital Currency Electronic Payment System (DC/EP) to make payments to other businesses.
Increasing the Scope of the Digital Yuan CBDC Use
Earlier this month, PBOC Deputy Governor Li Bo already hinted that it is looking to expand the scope of its CBDC use in the market. Hence, the central bank shall be further pushing for more trials ahead this week. As per its previous plans, the central bank is also looking to extend the use of CBDC for international athletes coming to China at the Winter Olympics 2022 next year.
Last month, Mu Changchun, director of the People’s Bank of China’s digital currency research institute briefed about pushing the use of Digital Yuan in the country’s financial system. He said that the Digital Yuan aims to provide a foundational backup to the already existing digital payment players like WeChat Pay and AliPay.
