In this undated file photo, people show their e-CNY digital wallets after being gifted with digital red envelopes from the Chengdu municipal government and e-commerce giant JD. (PHOTO BY HE HAIYANG / FOR CHINA DAILY)
The first batch of 500 red packets with digital yuan offered to the public by Bank of China (Hong Kong) had been snapped up as of Tuesday morning — the second day since its launch in Hong Kong, reflecting the popularity of the token with local residents.
BOCHK has taken the lead among the city’s commercial banks to launch the digital yuan pilot for consumers in retail shopping. Each virtual red packet is worth 100 yuan ($14.32).
Consumers can spend the 100 digital yuan at any of the 14 designated physical stores of U-Select, a supermarket chain across Hong Kong, or on the Chinese mainland’s e-commerce platform JD.com. Brick-and-mortar purchases with e-CNY can also be made at mainland shops that accept the digital currency
Chen Guang, BOCHK’s deputy general manager of the digital currency task force, said “The program proves the use of digital yuan in Hong Kong is technically feasible at an initial stage.”
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Successful registrants can download an e-CNY, or the digital yuan app, which functions as an e-wallet for storing and spending the token, and sign up for accounts with their mobile phone number. A total of 500 red packets were distributed through the app, in a bid to promote the cross-border adoption of the digital yuan.
Consumers can spend the 100 digital yuan at any of the 14 designated physical stores of U-Select, a supermarket chain across Hong Kong, or on the Chinese mainland’s e-commerce platform JD.com. Brick-and-mortar purchases with e-CNY can also be made at mainland shops that accept the digital currency.
Since the e-CNY initiative kicked off in 2019, the digital yuan — an electronic version of the nation’s yuan currency issued by the central bank — has been launched in 23 mainland cities. The number of transactions in the digital yuan totaled 360 million, with the value reaching about 100 billion yuan, as of Aug 31, according to the latest data from PBOC.
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In Hong Kong, four banks — Bank of China (Hong Kong), HSBC Hong Kong, Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong and Hang Seng Bank — have participated in a two-phase e-CNY technical trial. In the second phase, users can top up the e-CNY wallet using the payment platform Faster Payment System.
tianyuanzhang@chinadailyhk.com