WeChat, the most popular social media messaging application in China, is said to have enabled e-CNY payment methods. The service is now accessible to 23 areas where the electronic currency is being tested, including Shanghai and Beijing. This move is part of the country’s plan to increase the widespread adoption of its CBDC. The service is now accessible to 23 areas where the electronic currency is being tested, including Shanghai and Beijing.
Digital Yuan On WeChat
As per recent reports, WeChat, China’s most popular messaging program, has enabled customers to conduct digital Yuan payments. The social networking site made the statement earlier in January, claiming that the move would lead to the broad use of electronic money. Before using the CBDC, users must first open an account with WeBank, owned by Tencent.
Adding such support to an app with over one billion users might dramatically increase e-CNY distribution. It is worth mentioning that WeChat’s primary Chinese rival, Alipay, has likewise focused on digital yuan transactions. In 2021, the company started investigating the possibility of adoption and had been able to set up projects that would increase usage.
According to Linghao Bao, a Researcher at Consultancy Trivium, Chinese customers are deeply invested in either Alipay or WeChat. Having said that, it makes sense for the country’s central bank to seek collaboration with messaging apps in order to promote its digital money.
While numerous nations, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Jamaica, have stated their desire to investigate a possible CBDC issuance, China is well advanced above them. Over 140 million Chinese people have now established wallets for the digital yuan, out of which 10 million are business accounts.
Furthermore, the country’s regulators approved the use of the currency at the concluded 2022 Beijing Olympics. According to CryptoPotato, approximately $315,000 in e-CNY was transferred every day during the sporting event.
China’s Past CBDC Effort
For several months, the PBoC has attempted to promote its CBDC on several occasions. Thanks to these efforts, the organization announced in November that more than 140 million people had established digital yuan wallets
The PBoC’s digital currency research institute published the “e-CNY” software — a digital wallet for its CBDC – on android and iOS stores throughout the nation earlier. Local users were allowed to install it and undertake pilot testing of the electronic yuan and its distribution services as a result of the development. The idea was first offered in Shanghai before spreading to other parts of the world’s most populous nation.
The institution emphasized that the function is currently at the testing stage and is only available to approved customers via organizations that offer digital yuan services, including major national banks.
