As China continues to push forward with its efforts to launch a broad-scale central bank digital currency (CBDC), the latest development comes from the city of Suzhou.
According to reports from BTC in China, the city, just to the west of Shanghai, will be the second to roll out what’s being called a “red envelope” trial for the forthcoming digital yuan.
Plans for Suzhou come on the heels of a pilot scheme run in Shenzhen last month. As previously reported by BeInCrypto, that initiative saw ten million digital yuan distributed to 50,000 winners of red envelopes in a lottery format draw. This digital RMB was, of course, designed for use at real-world retailers.
Cashing in on China’s Black Friday
Reports indicate that in Suzhou, a similar initiative will be launched to giveaway digital cash ahead of the country’s e-commerce sponsored “Double 12” year-end shopping event on Dec. 12. Many businesses in the city have reportedly already installed near-field communication QR codes in anticipation of the trial.
And in addition, the Suzhou rollout is said to feature offline payment, and “touch to pay” functions. This functionality will allow users to transfer money simply by touching mobile devices, even if they aren’t connected to a network.
Further user giveaways are not the only current piece of CBDC news in China.
Just a few days ago, in a lengthy speech that touched on the effects of the coronavirus on the global economy, Chinese president Xi Jinping said that G20 countries “need to discuss developing standards and principles for central bank digital currencies with an open and accommodating attitude.”
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