The digital yuan once again filled the tabloid space with an announcement by the chairman of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) digital currency research institute Mu Changchun on the use of the currency through the country’s major payment network.
According to Mu, the digital yuan supported by the central bank will soon be accessible using major mobile payment wallets such as WeChat and Alipay.
This latest statement is in stark contrast to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), saying digital yuan is not compatible with the two payment networks.
Earlier, the same tabloid reported that China may launch digital currency as an alternative to WeChat and Alipay which have dominated 90% of mobile payment transactions in the country.
Currently the use of digital yuan is so limited through exclusive mobile wallet applications. This is because the application is facing the issue of counterfeit products, which already have an imitation digital yuan wallet in the market.
There is no more proactive step in addressing this issue unless all parties involved, from the central bank to the consumer, act more cautiously.
At the same time, Mu also said the difference between digital yuan operating using a centralized system, is not the same as digital assets such as Facebook Libra and Bitcoin (BTC) which are known for their centralized system.
The asset is still under trial, involving an offer of $ 1.5 million digital yuan to 50,000 Chinese residents registered in the grant.
