The Chinese government has launched over 200 e-CNY activities worth over 180 million yuan ($26.6 million) across various cities to promote the adoption of its digital currency and increase consumption.
The Chinese government implemented measures towards promoting the adoption of its digital currency, the e-CNY.
The Chinese cities reportedly launched e-CNY activities worth over 180 million yuan ($26.6 million) to promote consumption. These activities included subsidies, consumption coupons, and other programs aimed at increasing the usage of digital yuan.
The efforts mark the first time the government has done so since easing COVID-19 restrictions and aims to increase consumption.
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Government’s e-CNY initiatives
Over the holiday period, the government launched around 200 activities to promote the use of e-CNY in various cities across the country. As a result, multiple cities gave away over 180 million yuan ($26.5 million) worth of the CBDC in subsidies and consumption coupons.
For instance, the Shenzhen local government provided subsidies to the city’s catering industry by giving away over 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) worth of e-CNY.
The residents warmly received the e-CNY initiatives. Data from the e-commerce platform Meituan showed that residents took up the e-CNY given away by the Hangzhou city government within just nine seconds.
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Boosting usage
The government played a significant role in boosting the usage of e-CNY. In February, senior officials in Suzhou set a goal for the end of 2023 of having 2 trillion yuan ($300 billion) worth of e-CNY transactions in the city.
Suzhou aims to achieve 2 trillion yuan ($300 billion) in e-CNY transactions by the end of 2023. This goal is challenging, as cumulative e-CNY transactions only crossed 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) two years after the launch of the CBDC.
The e-CNY wallet updated a future in December in an effort to attract users. The feature will allow users to send red packets during the holiday season. In January again, the wallet received another update allowing users to make contactless payments using Android phones.
Despite these efforts, a former Chinese central banker admitted that the results of the e-CNY trials have been less than ideal, with usage being “low and highly inactive.”
