50,000 residents of Chinese tech hub Shenzhen will receive over $1.5 million of the upcoming digital yuan as part of public trials

Recipients can use the currency to pay at over 3,000 retail locations. The move is part of a broader push to incorporate China’s digital currency in everyday life.

Shenzhen said Thursday it is launching a pilot program with the Chinese central bank to distribute a total of 10 million yuan in digital RMB to the public to stimulate consumption and domestic demand as well as to conduct a routine test of the digital currency.

The pilot will be funded by Shenzhen’s Luohu District, and the money will be distributed equally to 50,000 recipients through lottery. Residents can use the money at 3,389 designated merchants, including restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, metro stations, department stores, and other businesses in Luohu District within next week.

It is the latest move to further expand pilot run of digital RMB in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, following trials in four cities: Xiongan New Area in north China’s Hebei Province, Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong Province, Suzhou in east China’s Jiangsu Province and Chengdu in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

It will also be tested during the 2022 Winter Olympics Games in Beijing, and will be expanded to other regions as appropriate.

China’s four major state-run commercial banks – Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Agricultural Bank of China – are also reported to have started large-scale internal testing of a digital wallet app, moving a step closer to the official launch of the world’s first sovereign digital currency.

Users in the trial can use the digital wallet to top up accounts, withdraw money, make payments, and transfer money after registering with their mobile phone number. The banks are also testing a scenario where users can transfer money without internet.

Source: CGTN News