Chinese commercial banks open access to the digital yuan for customers

Thirty-five Chinese banks have integrated digital wallets supporting e-CNY into their apps, Shanghai Securities Journal reports.

In December 2020, six of the largest state-owned banks were brought in to test the digital yuan. Now access to the instrument has been extended to private and joint-stock institutions such as Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank and Ping An Bank.

According to the publication, the expansion of the list is linked to the launch of two systems that provide a single access point to the e-CNY infrastructure. The first was developed by the clearing platform City Commercial Bank Clearing, the second by the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC).

“At present, commercial banks that are not authorised institutions can access the digital yuan infrastructure in two ways. The first is through authorised institutions, among which are six state-owned banks; the second is through the ABC and City clearing systems,” an informed source told the publication.

The City Commercial Bank Clearing system is expected to be used by 94 banks, including 76 commercial banks, 15 private banks and three foreign banks.

Local media report that the internet giant JD.com, joined the testing of the digital yuan in December last year, also provided access to the tool for business clients on its platform.

Earlier, Beijing municipal authorities fully integrated e-CNY into the payment ecosystem. When buying public transport tickets, the option to pay with the digital yuan now sits alongside cash and the WeChat Pay and AliPay payment systems.

In July, People’s Bank of China published a technical document on the national digital currency of the PRC.

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