China’s central bank has started testing its official digital
currency, pressing ahead with its plan to roll out a virtual money
payment system, days after Facebook-backed Libra scaled back its
ambitions to become a global currency. The Digital Currency Research
Institute of the People’s Bank of China (PBC), China’s central bank,
said that the research and development work of China’s official digital
currency, dubbed as DC/EP, is proceeding steadily, and the internal
pilot tests are carried out in four cities and will be carried out in
scenarios of the 2022 Winter Olympics Games in Beijing. China’s official
digital currency is undergoing testing and has not been officially
released, official media reported on Monday.
Insiders
said the trial run will be piloted within a small range of banks and
end-users, and spread to a wider range with improved technology and
system, the Global Times reported. More banks will continue to
participate in the test of the DC/EP, in a bid to improve the
technology, security, and stability of the payment tool, Chen Bo,
director of the Finance Research Centre at the Institute of Finance and
Economics at the Central University of Finance and Economics told the
daily. The Agricultural Bank of China, one of the country’s big four
state-owned banks, has tested the DC/EP (digital currency/electronic
payment) in four cities in an app launched last Wednesday.
-Full Report
