The key city of Shandong Province in eastern China, Jinan, has begun promoting the use of the nation’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) by implementing digital yuan payments across all of its bus routes.
The city evaluated the implementation of CBDC payments on two bus lines during its trial period.
The city has declared that it has adopted a new payment system across the board for its entire bus network after the trial period.
The city of Jinan has revised all of its card readers and bus route software to enable patrons to make payments using the county’s CBDC, according to a recent report from the local media outlet.
However, the city is also encouraging the utilisation of the digital yuan, by offering fee discounts to travellers on choosing the CBDC payment option.
According to the notice, those who want to use digital yuan as payment are eligible for up to two discounted rides/day and up to a maximum of six reduced rides per month.
The action is one part of a larger campaign to encourage China’s use of the digital yuan. The Chinese city of Changshu declared on April 23 that it would start paying government servant wages in digital yuan.
According to the announcement, “all levels of employees in the government, public institutions, and state-owned businesses would begin receiving their paychecks through the country’s CBDC in May.”
The nation has adopted its CBDC for its Belt and Road plan and cross-border trades in addition to bus rides and civil servant wages.
In the Chinese city of Xuzhou, a strategy to promote the CBDC in cross-border trade was unveiled on April 24. Trains that transport commodities to Europe leave from this city.
In the meantime, to encourage the usage of the digital yuan, the French bank BNP Paribas has joined forces with the Bank of China (BOC).
According to a May 5 article by regional media outlet the South China Morning Post, the collaboration would enable BNP Paribas’ corporate clients to link with BOC’s system, enabling the usage of the digital yuan for real-time transactions.
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