China tests digital yuan for payroll payments in Xiongan

The People’s Bank of China tested the central bank digital currency (CBDC) for salary payments in the Xiongan district of Hebei province.

The new pilot project uses a distributed ledger technology-based payment platform. Forestry workers received salaries in the digital yuan to their personal wallets.

According to authorities, this solution significantly simplified the payout process and brought China closer to the deployment of the CBDC.

In early June, Shanghai authorities distributed $3 million to the public as part of CBDC testing, with a record number of ‘red envelopes’.

In June, Beijing authorities distributed more than $6 million as part of the CBDC testing. This was the second lottery in the capital of the PRC — in February the administration distributed 10 million digital yuan among residents.

In October 2020, the first mass testing took place in Shenzhen, which had already organized three distributions. CBDC trials also included Suzhou, Chengdu and Changsha.

In total, China distributed about $39 million during the CBDC experiments.

Hong Kong authorities are discussing expansion of CBDC testing for cross-border transactions.

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