As reported by the People's Bank of China, more than 360 million payments have already been made with the CBDC.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced that transactions made with the new central bank digital currency (CBDC) exceeded 100 billion yuan (equivalent to almost 14 billion US dollars). Likewise, the monetary authority reported that more than 360 million payments have already been made with the new asset.
As the Chinese government continues to test its digital yuan through various pilots, the currency has already been introduced in 15 provinces and municipalities and is accepted at more than 5.6 million merchants.
As explained by the PBOC, the authorities have carried out several subsidy campaigns to encourage the use of the digital yuan. "These initiatives aim to stimulate consumption, combat the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and promote low-carbon transport," the agency said.
Apart from the retail applications that the CBDC has starred in, Beijing's plans seem to be more ambitious. The Government's intention is to introduce the new digital asset in corporate and financial sectors, and open the possibility of paying taxes with it. Likewise, it transpired that there are conversations started with traditional digital payment systems such as Alipay and Wechat Pay to link them to the new asset.