The major international events that are the Olympic Games have always been an opportunity for the host countries to demonstrate their know-how and their power. After the 5G tests in South Korea, in 2018 and while waiting for the very hypothetical flying taxis from Paris 2024, here is the central bank digital currency (MNBC) of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.
Digital yuan expands in the Middle Kingdom
China promises that with a simple passport and a phone number tourists who come to attend the Olympics, if the Covid-19 does not yet have its own, will be able to easily convert their currencies into digital yuan.
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To be ready for the competition, it begins on February 4, several new features were introduced in these first days of 2022. The use of e-CNY, the official name of the currency of the People’s Bank of China, has been extended.
Until now only selected people, or the winners of lotteries used as a means of distributing money had access to it. 140 million residents had exchanged 62 billion yuan, about 8.5 billion euros, in October 2021.
Since the beginning of January 2022, residents of 10 cities can freely use digital yuan. This concerns Beijing, Shanghai and those already selected for the previous phase such as Shenzhen. The currency has its own digital wallet. The application is available on all application stores on Android or on the App Store.
The currency is accessible through the electronic wallets of other banks, especially state, but not only. The digital yuan is accessible through Ant Group’s AliPay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay. The competition between the central bank digital currency and the two monster platforms could be destructive, it may not happen.
AliPay and WeChat Pay, competitors or partners?
the South China Morning Post, at the origin of the information and property of Alibaba, sister company of Ant Group, recalls that AliPay declared 1.3 billion users in July 2020. The payments made would exceed 16,000 billion euros . China’s most popular super-app, WeChat’s payment platform, claims 800 million monthly active users.
The digital yuan has Beijing on its side. The Chinese authorities were able to demonstrate in 2021 that they had no qualms about shaking up their tech giants. Shaking up the habits of a billion citizens is another kettle of fish.
The collaboration seems to have won. Tencent and Alibaba have quietly contributed to the development of the digital yuan and should participate in its establishment. The People’s Bank of China hopes that e-CNY will eventually replace cash. The Olympic Games will be a life-size test in the spotlight. The official launch is not yet scheduled.