Media: Digital yuan outpaces Visa in daily transactions on Olympic opening day

On the day of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, attendees made more transactions with the eCNY than through Visa’s payment system. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports this, citing sources.

Exact figures were not disclosed.

Within the “quarantine bubble” you can also pay with cash or use devices for converting fiat into CBDC. In November 2021, a device that converts foreign currencies into the digital yuan was introduced by Bank of China.

Depending on the transaction size, visitors receive physical cards or gadgets loaded with the digital currency. Because of an exclusive contract with Visa, payments familiar to Chinese users using AliPay and WeChat are excluded.

“Replacing cash with digital yuan for payments can effectively reduce direct contact between people and the risk of spreading COVID-19.”, the organizing committee said in response to WSJ’s inquiry.

The publication noted that many merchants accept CBDC as payment while outside the “quarantine zone.”

Visa approved the option to pay with eCNY while awaiting a license to operate in China, journalists suggested. For now, authorities have allowed the operation of competitors — Mastercard and American Express.

In July 2021, a letter demanding that athletes be prohibited from using e-CNY was sent to the chair of the US Olympic Committee, Susanne Lyons.

Senator Pat Toomey, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, призвал Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to study the experience of China’s use of the digital yuan at the Olympics.

The Chinese authorities expect that the launch of the CBDC will help strengthen the yuan’s position on the international stage and undermine the dollar’s dominance.

Earlier, the Director of the U.S. National Intelligence John Ratcliffe expressed concern about China’s dominance in the field of digital currencies.

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