The city of Tianjin has begun paying the wages of some finance department workers in digital yuan, while local Chinese media reported that selected hospitals in Hangzhou and Guangzhou have begun accepting digital yuan payments for medical treatments.
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Fast facts
- The Tianjin Municipal Finance Bureau on Saturday urged government employees to set up digital yuan wallets in preparation for a further expansion of the digital payment system.
- The Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has begun accepting digital yuan payments, becoming the first hospital in Hangzhou to take part in the payment system, according to local media Zhejiang Daily.
- The Guangdong People’s Hospital Huifu Branch has also started accepting digital yuan, becoming the first hospital in the province to participate in the trial, according to local media Guangzhou Daily.
- The use of the digital yuan has recently been expanded to include a variety of public transport and municipal services, including metro, buses, trains, highway toll gates, taxation, and social insurance.
- China’s digital yuan, or e-CNY, is being tested in 23 cities following its initial rollout in October 2020.
- Total transactions using e-CNY reached 87.565 billion yuan (US$11.238 billion) at the end of 2021, the People’s Bank of China announced in January.
See related article: Former Chinese central bank chief says digital yuan is for retail transactions
