New Tencent Digital Yuan Wallet Preparing to Launch
First images have emerged of specialized digital yuan wallets provided by the Tencent-run e-pay platform WeChat Pay.
Although the wallets are still in what appears to be beta testing and are not yet fully functional, some media outlets – such as Sina – appear to have been able to open wallets and test their functionality.
WeChat Pay, along with its biggest rival Alibaba’s Alipay, have cornered 15% of China’s payments market. And while the central People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has gone to great pains to insist that the digital CNY and e-pay platforms like WeChat Pay are fundamentally different, others believe that Beijing wants to take a bite out of the e-pay duopoly with its own digital yuan app offering.
The “Tencent Digital Yuan Wallet” – as it has been named – is an applet within the WeChat ecosystem that will provide digital payment functions “such as transferring money, receiving and paying, and bank card-related” features.
Although WeChat Pay has already added basic digital yuan payment functions to its standard wallet user experience (UX) in pilot areas, the new applet provides a range of advanced functions and will allow users to pay by simply scanning QR codes on their smart devices, rather than having to launch the WeChat Pay platform and manually select the digital CNY payment option.
It also allows users to make use of “sweep” and other functions to process multiple payments, likely, or set up something akin to a standing order or direct debit on a conventional bank account.
The media outlet concluded that the innovation would make it far “more convenient for users to manage” their digital currency accounts.
(A TV reporter showcased the use of digital yuan to pay for goods online and in-store at consumer goods
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