Civil servants and other public sector workers in the eastern Chinese city of Changshu will be paid solely in digital yuan starting in May, marking the biggest push of the e-currency to date.

A document posted on a [1]government website said the effort would promote an ongoing pilot of digital renminbi in Jiangsu Province.

According to local media [2]Daily Economic News , a hospital in the city has already notified its staff that their next salaries will be distributed in digital renminbi via a personal wallet. The currency needs no internet connection to work as it can be transmitted through NFC.

[3]

The city already has many of its services payable via the digital yuan, including water and gas, cable TV and public transport. Unlike cryptocurrency, which Beijing [4]bans on the mainland, the digital currency is backed by China's central bank. The digital currency received a boost when it was tested during the [5]2022 Olympics , and since then has been incorporated into Alibaba's payment platform, Alipay. Personal wallet apps are available on Apple and Android.

[6]US senators warn China's Digital Yuan could compromise Olympic athletes

[7]Bank of England won't call it Britcoin but says digital pound 'likely to be needed in future'

[8]Alibaba hides 11.11 shopping festival sales figures for the first time

[9]India's retail digital currency pilot launches on December 1

The digital yuan is supported by six state-owned banks and four others – China Merchants Bank, Industrial Bank, WeBank, and MYbank – and is hoping other financial services will bridge the gap to use.

A Beijing-controlled currency with a detailed blockchain record of how and where money is spent is obviously desirable to the Chinese government.

[10]

However, its adoption has failed to gain traction, with around $14.5 billion (¥100 billion) [11]traded from its inception until last August. Comparatively, Alipay [12]reportedly processed $231 billion (¥1.6 trillion) on average each month in 2020.

One problem with its adoption is a lack of places to spend the money. One public servant in Changshu told [13]Reuters that once they receive the e-currency, they immediately convert it to traditional yuan: nearby merchants don't accept it.

[14]

Pilot programs continue to push forward the use of the digital currency in 17 provinces in the hopes of being regionally integrated and used regularly by 2025. ®

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[1] https://www.chinapeace.gov.cn/chinapeace/c100007/2023-04/22/content_12651428.shtml

[2] https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzIwNDY3NDMyMw==&mid=2247564025&idx=1&sn=6ff8ea92286c52ea31c646543041cb00&chksm=973f3e85a048b79396ef4017449f051ab1f52ef97f6b8e9031d475cf5f7505ad6036777620d1#rd

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZEih5ZDJ2Lx8wdZQEUn8uAAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[4] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/25/china_cryptocurrency_illegal_fundraising_crime/

[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/11/digital_yuan_alipay/

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/22/tokyo_olympics_data_leak/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/08/digital_pound_needed_consultations_commence/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/13/asia_tech_in_brief/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/30/indias_retail_cbdc_pilot_starts/

[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZEih5ZDJ2Lx8wdZQEUn8uAAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[11] http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2022/1012/c1004-32543995.html

[12] https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/24/economy/china-digital-yuan-government-salary-intl-hnk/index.html

[13] https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/chinese-digital-currency-stocks-surge-amid-new-efforts-promote-e-cny-2023-04-24/

[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZEih5ZDJ2Lx8wdZQEUn8uAAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/