China to allow more banks to handle digital renminbi, sources say

As at last November, digital renminbi transactions had notched a cumulative value of $3.1 trillion since launch. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SHANGHAI/BEIJING - China will allow a dozen additional banks to handle its digital renminbi, three people with knowledge of the plans said, as Beijing pushes to accelerate use of the digital currency under a strategy that contrasts sharply with the US approach.

The 12 new banks picked to promote the digital renminbi by China’s central bank will add to 10 currently authorised and include Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, China Everbright Bank and Bank of Ningbo, according to the people.

They all requested anonymity as they are not allowed to discuss the matter publicly.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) declined to comment.

The push to put the digital renminbi into the real economy has been slow so far since its launch in 2019, with most retail customers already able to make safe and low-cost electronic transactions via platforms such as Alibaba’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings’ WeChat Pay.

But industry officials and analysts say applications could be broader for cross-border payments where the digital currency offers a way of settling trades outside the West’s US dollar-dominated financial architecture and its fixtures such as messaging network SWIFT.