Top banks in China Give Backing to the Digital Yuan

The major banking institutions based in Shanghai have aligned with the Digital Yuan over other popular payment methods

Six of the top banks in China have thrown their weight behind the country’s digital currency, according to a recent report. They include the Bank of China, China’s Construction Bank, the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, and the Agricultural Bank of China.

With the Chinese shopping festival fast approaching, the six banks are said to hope the digital currency will facilitate payments during the event, with representatives from the banks saying they will offer red envelopes of free Digital Yuan to festival-goers.

An official from one bank urged the Chinese community to have confidence in the Digital Yuan as it is more reliable than two of the widely-used payment platforms: Alipay and WeChat.

“People will realize that digital yuan payment is so convenient that they don’t have to rely on Alipay or WeChat Pay anymore,” the official stated.

The PBoC, however, said that the Digital Yuan wouldn’t be a rival to the two payment providers. Other businesses in China have either adopted the currency or shown willingness to do the same. The online retailer JD.com has previously cooperated with the PBoC on the subject of testing the digital currency. The e-commerce company recently confirmed through a blog that  it used the Digital Yuan to pay the salaries of some of its employees.