JD.com becomes China's first online mall to test digital yuan
Beijing
JD.COM Inc, China's second-biggest online retailer, will become the country's first virtual mall to use digital yuan, the cryptocurrency backed by the central bank.
JD Digits, the e-commerce giant's fintech affiliate, will launch a pilot programme this month, and customers will pay for certain items with digital yuan, it said on its official WeChat account. About 100,000 digital cash vouchers, worth 20 million yuan in total, will be issued to residents of Suzhou city in the eastern province of Jiangsu on Dec 11.
The digital yuan has been used in more than four million transactions, worth a total of about two billion yuan (S$408.7 million), as at early last month, according to People's Bank of China governor Yi Gang. The central bank kicked off tests for the online renminbi in some cities in April to bolster its status as a global currency and to help control the domestic economy as it rapidly goes digital.
In October, Shenzhen's city government gave out a total of 10 million yuan in the digital currency to thousands of randomly selected citizens following President Xi Jinping's visit to the southern coastal city.
JD Digits will contribute to promoting the development of the digital and real economies by supporting the People's Bank of China and local governments in launching the digital yuan's pilot programme in Suzhou, according to an unidentified official at the company. BLOOMBERG
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Banking & Finance
BOJ will hike rates if trend inflation accelerates, says Ueda
Citi picks Amit Dhawan to head Singapore commercial bank operations
China finance ministry echoes Xi’s call for bond trading at PBOC
Thai PM asks banks to lower interest rates to help economy
From airport lounge access to dining deals: How banks can attract customers with travel perks
Japan to work with counterparts on excessive FX moves, says finance minister