More than 300,000 stores and vendors in China’s Changsha now accept digital yuan payments – as the central bank digital currency continues to break new ground in the country.
According to Hunan province official magazine, by the end of 2022, “more than 300,000 digital yuan traders” are now operating in Changsha. The city claimed that “more than 53.25 million” digital yuan transactions have been processed by its residents. In total, more than $1.2 billion in transactions have been processed in Changsha to date.
The city is home to just under 8 million people and is the capital of Hunan. It was added to the Digital Yuan pilot in April 2021 – along with Shanghai, Hainan, Xi’an, Qingdao and Dalian in the second batch of “pilot” cities.
The pilot began in earnest in April 2020, with citizens of Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu and Xi’an being the first to use the coin.
The pilot has expanded to 17 cities, with Hong Kong and Macau now working with the Beijing-based central bank on “cross-border” functionality tests.
Digital Yuan adoption drive gathers momentum in Changsha and beyond
According to data from the Central People’s Bank of China (PBoC), Changsha has “repeatedly ranked among the top regions” for the number of personal digital wallets opened, business transactions and the accumulated number of monthly active wallets.
Last month’s Lunar New Year celebrations saw the PBoC and its commercial partners launch further adoption campaigns in Hangzhou and Beijing, including several token giveaways.
In Tianjin, the state-owned China Construction Bank offered customers up to 50% off when visiting movie theaters, dining out or shopping — if they used the digital yuan to pay their bills.
And in Shenzhen, the media outlet JRJ As reported, the local government gave out $15,000 worth of digital yuan vouchers yesterday – less than the maximum value of $100.
Vouchers can be redeemed at local food shops and restaurants that accept digital yuan payments.
