ExplainerWhat’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

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A staff member, left, of the Bank of Communications helps as a tourist tries to use digital RMB at the Happy Valley Beijing theme park on June 16, 2021. Expansion of the digital currency has been rapid in 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 12:00am, 10 Oct 2023Updated: 12:21am, 10 Oct 2023

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.

Overseas users can use the wallet at offline stores that display e-yuan acceptance signs, and on popular Chinese platforms like Meituan and Ctrip.

Payday for civil servants

Jiangsu, a manufacturing province in East China, is promoting the digital yuan by incorporating it into the payment of salaries for civil servants and people who work for public institutions in cities like Taicang, Xuzhou and Changshu.