China’s central bank said it was conducting internal tests for its national digital currency including for hypothetical usage at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Internal trials are being conducted in four Chinese cities – Suzhou, Xiong’an, Chengdu and Shenzhen – with consideration for hypothetical scenarios in the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics, according to a «Caixin» report citing the central bank.
The digital yuan project currently includes involvement from four state-owned banks (ICBC, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), and Bank of China), three telecom companies(China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom) and tech giant Tencent. Bank of China is planning to conduct similar internal tests soon, the report added.
The report follows social media circulation of screenshots of a supposed pilot version of a wallet app for China’s digital currency. The wallet app is believed to be tested internally by ABC and includes features such as QR code payment and fund transfers simply by touching phones.
Digital Yuan
China joins other governments with the ambition to develop a digital currency for better monetary and financial management, not to mention a series of new technologies that will significantly enhance functionalities including speed and security.
The world’s second-largest economy began development in 2014 and has since established related legislation, created a research institute and is now testing for potential usage. The central bank still has no timetable for the official launch of a digital yuan.
