China is piloting its new digital currency, the e-RMB, is four major cities where it has been formally adopted into their monetary systems.
The cities, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chegdu and Xiong’an, have used e-RMB to pay some public servants’ salaries as well as in commercial operations like transport and retail.
The digital currency is undergoing testing and has not been officially released, state media reports.
The trial run is expected to be piloted within a small range of banks and end users, and spread to a wider range as the technology and systems improve.
The PBOC will be the sole issuer of the e-RMB, and will offer it to commercial banks and other operators. People can convert their own money to digital currency and use it to make payments via electronic wallets.
A broad roll-out of the currency is expected in in mid-2021.