- Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China are working with the People’s Bank of China
- Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has already entered into a ‘strategic partnership’ with the central bank over the sovereign digital currency plan
China’s big four state-owned commercial banks have started large-scale internal testing of what would be the world’s first sovereign digital currency, as the launch of the digital yuan appeared to move a step closer, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Thursday.The Bank of China, the China Construction Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China are working on the digital yuan with the central bank in major cities, including Shenzhen, according to the Guangzhou-based newspaper.Users taking part in the trial can use the app to top up their accounts, withdraw money, make payments and transfer money after registering with their mobile phone number. The banks are also testing a scenario where a user can make a transfer to another account without an internet connection, the newspaper added.
Employees at some of China’s big state-run banks have also already started to use the sovereign digital currency to make transfers and pay bills, the 21st Century Business Herald reported.
An official timetable for launching the digital yuan has yet to be announced, although on Monday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said it would “actively and steadily promote the research and development of the state digital currency” in the second half of the year – another sign that it is accelerating the progress of the digital currency.Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing also said last month that it has entered into a “strategic partnership” with the central bank over the digital currency plan, officially known as the Digital Currency Electronic Payment service.
The PBOC has reiterated that the sovereign digital currency will be a replacement for M0, the amount of cash in circulation in the form of notes and coins, but former Bank of China vice-president Wang Yongli said last week that it would eventually replace all currencies, not just M0.....
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According to S&P Global Market Intelligence the four banks named in the story are the four largest banks in the world:
