For its pilot testing, the Beijing Rail Transit has started a program that would allow it to accept digital renminbi or formally known as Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) as payments for ticket rides.
While the Chinese government is continuously driving out cryptocurrency operations in the country, it is also gradually implementing the use of its own digital currency.
Citizens with an existing bank account on Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) can easily pay digital renminbi just by swiping their cards at the stations’ transit gates.
One of ICBC’s specializations is introducing the country’s CBDC for its customers but it also offers other digital currency services like Bitcoin exchange services.
Continuous CBDC push
The “Yitongxing” app will be a central tool for ticket payments which is designed to work on all 24 railway lines of Beijing Rail Transit system (including its suburban railways)
China’s railway authority said that digital renminbi has a big potential to improve railway services and make passengers’ experience as seamless as possible.
Many analysts expect that this initial pilot test of digital renminbi on China’s railway system is part of the government’s grand plan to roll out CBDC on a national scale.
CBDC everywhere, soon
The Chinese government has been working double-time to test and expand its digital renminbi on various parts of the economy.
On top of its recent railway digital payment test, the government has also tested its digital renminbi in several districts and has been successful as most Chinese citizens today are already oriented with the use of advanced technologies.
Digital cross-border and wholesale payments are also being tested by authorities to further integrate digital renminbi in various transactions, to prepare the country for a national CBDC adoption.
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