China keen to realise digital yuan ambitions amid slow uptake
Despite record transactions last year, most users prefer alternatives – while Beijing likely to maintain gradual expansion, analysts say
The slow uptake underscores that China still has a long way to go to realise its ambitions. Despite government and public sector incentives, such as issuing consumption coupons and tax rebates through the system, users have shown little motivation to embrace the digital currency.
Chloe Cui, an employee at a state-owned bank, is paid a portion of her salary in digital yuan – another initiative to expand domestic use. But every month, she transfers the money straight to her regular bank account. “I’ve never used [it] for payments. I only use it when receiving money,” she said.
The upgraded digital yuan would also incorporate more emerging technologies than the traditional monetary system, boosting digitisation across issuance, circulation and payment – a move analysts see as Beijing’s answer to stablecoins.