Bank of China: Platforms must provide digital yuan retail payment option

In the short term, e-commerce platforms can integrate the CBDC through QR codes.

While China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yaun, goes through technological and business model upgrades, wallet providers should facilitate payment options in all retail scenarios, according to a statement made by Changchun Mu, director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China, on Sept. 3.

In a speech at the annual China International Service Trade Fair, Mu said the digital yuan has “undergone a major upgrade” in terms of its “organizational forms” and business model. Now, it’s the turn of the payment tools to be upgraded.

Mu mentioned commercial banking apps like WeChat and Alipay, reminding them of their obligation to comply with regulations. In the short term, the platforms can focus on implementing the QR codes for the CBDC while upgrading the payment tools in the long term, according to Mu.

The official also mentioned wholesale payments. According to Mu, there is no need to change the current interbank payment and settlement systems completely; it would be enough to integrate the CBDC payment option into it. However, no technical details of an integration were mentioned during the speech.

China continues its work on the blockchain-backed yet fully controlled digital infrastructure. In August, Chinese government officials unveiled a new data exchange powered by blockchain. The newly established Hangzhou Data Exchange will streamline the exchange of corporate information technology data by leveraging distributed ledger technology.