Crypto: The e-yuan arrives on WeChat, one more step towards generalization

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Investing.com – WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app will start supporting the country’s sovereign digital currency. This development could create a huge leap in adoption thanks to the app’s billion users, as China works to roll out the digital yuan nationwide.

An integrated ecosystem

WeChat is less well known outside of China where it is ubiquitous. It is often referred to as a “super application” because many services are integrated into it. Users can use messaging features and make payments through WeChat Pay, as well as hail taxis and order meals.

WeChat Pay allows users to show merchants a barcode on their phone to pay for in-store items. It can also be used for online shopping. WeChat Pay has over 800 million monthly active users.

An ongoing deployment process

So far, the People’s Bank of China, which issues the digital yuan or e-CNY, has conducted limited testing in some cities through lotteries where the central bank has distributed small amounts of the currency to some citizens. .

The PBOC plans to expand the use of the digital yuan, although no concrete date has been set for a nationwide rollout. This week, the PBOC launched an e-CNY app for users in certain regions and cities in China that will allow all residents of those regions to use digital currency.

Towards a generalization of the digital yuan

Last year, Alipay also began testing digital yuan payments. With Alipay and WeChat, the PBOC will be more likely to entice citizens to use digital currency.

Chinese consumers are so locked into WeChat Pay and Alipay that it is unrealistic to convince them to switch to a new mobile payment app. So it makes sense for the central bank to team up with WeChat Pay and Alipay rather than to do it alone, ”said Linghao Bao, an analyst at consultancy firm Trivium China.

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