China to continue developing digital yuan, says central bank governor

WION Web Team

New DelhiUpdated: Nov 09, 2021, 03:33 PM IST

FILE PHOTO: China's official app for digital yuan is seen on a mobile phone placed in front of an image of the Chinese flag, in this illustration picture taken October 16, 2020 Photograph:(Reuters)

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China is already testing digital currency in its major cities. Work to improve digital yuan will continue and its design and use will be improved

Already a front-runner in developing central bank digital currencies (CBDC), China on Tuesday said that it will continue to develop digital yuan (eCNY) and improve its design. Yi Gang, Governor of People's Bank of China made a statement to this effect. He was addressing a Bank of Finland event via video conferencing

"Going forward, we will continue to prudently advance R&D of eCNY, improve its design and use," said Yi Gang.

China is already testing digital yuan in major cities like Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai. However, no timetable for its official rollout has been set.

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China will improve eCNY's privacy protection and anti-counterfeiting feature and increase its interoperability with existing payments tools, Yi Gang said.

China will test eCNY's impact on its monetary policy and financial markets, he added.

Yi also said eCNY aims to meet the need of domestic retail payments as cross-border digital payments involve more complicated issues, such as anti-money laundering.

(With inputs from agencies)