China Says Overseas Visitors Are Using e-CNY, Paying More Salaries with CBDC
Chinese officials say uptake for the digital yuan is rising among overseas visitors – while more citizens are receiving their salaries in CBDC wallets.
Per the Hangzhou Daily, state-run banks in the Hangzhou Asian Games Village “welcomed delegations [athletes and coaches]” from across Asia at special digital yuan “demonstration” booths.
The overseas “delegations” were shown how to use the digital yuan to “make purchases” at various stores in and around the Asian Games Village.
Athletes and others were able to “experience the safety and convenience” of the coin “first-hand” at the games, which concluded on October 8.
The event was the first major international showcase for the coin.
And China marked the event by releasing a slew of new CBDC features aimed at foreign visitors.
These include an English-language version of the central bank’s digital yuan app and a link to Hong Kong’s FPS payment platform.
State-run banks, meanwhile, have begun promoting the coin to international students at Chinese universities.
Per Xinhua (via the China Economic Daily), visitors to China can now “register and open a digital yuan wallet with an overseas mobile phone number.”
They can also top up their wallets with overseas Visa and MasterCard bank cards.
And non-Chinese residents can also use QR codes from Alipay and UnionPay to make payments in Mainland China “through some overseas wallets.”
An Industrial and Commercial Bank of China spokesperson said:
“Previously, foreigners coming to China could only ‘pay-as-they-go’ when using digital yuan wallets. But new functions let them ‘top up first, and use later.’ This will make the payment process shorter and make for simpler and more friction-free transactions.”
But it appears that the CBDC is not the only
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