China’s digital yuan is now accepted on Guangzhou city trams and can be used to recharge Xiamen’s city public transport card, as the metropolises join an expanding network of cities using the digital currency.
See related article: Chinese state media calls for wider e-CNY adoption
Fast facts
- According to Guangzhou local media, passengers on the city’s Tram Line 1 can now pay for fares with the payment QR code of the digital yuan app.
- Xiamen city’s public transportation swipe cards can be reloaded with digital yuan beginning May 6, Xiamen local media reported.
- Xiamen’s public transportation system will next allow passengers to pay fares using a digital yuan payment QR code, the report said.
- With Guangzhou and Xiamen, at least 12 of China’s 23 digital yuan pilot cities have started to accept such payments on their public transportation systems, according to a Forkast analysis.
- The digital yuan, or e-CNY, is China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), which began public tests in October 2020 and is now piloting in 23 cities in China.
- Total transactions using e-CNY reached 87.565 billion yuan (US$11.238 billion) as of the end of 2021, China’s central bank announced in January.
See related article: Xiamen issues China’s first blockchain-based commemorative subway ticket
