Singaporean crypto-friendly DBS Bank has launched a new payment tool for the digital yuan, or e-CNY, to allow businesses in China to receive payments in the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC). The first e-CNY transaction through the service was conducted with a catering company in Shenzhen. The new solution will enable the bank's corporate customers in China to receive payments in e-CNY. - The service will also automatically settle the digital yuan payments into the clients' Chinese yuan (CNY) bank deposit accounts, eliminating the need for manual settlement processes.
- In addition, the tool will help merchants in regions with limited internet connectivity receive payments smoothly.
- DBS Bank's head of global transaction services, Lim Soon Chong, said the new CBDC payment service is a significant milestone in the bank's efforts to enable instant and frictionless 24/7 payments.
- China is currently piloting e-CNY, launched in 2019, in 26 cities and 17 provinces.
CBDCs are issued and controlled by a country's government or central bank and backed by the local currency. - The Chinese Communist Party, the ruling political party of the country, pushes for CBDC adoption for years mainly because it is subject to the direct control of the state.
- Cryptocurrencies, any kind of crypto transactions, and all crypto mining activities have been forbidden in China since 2021.
- In 2020, DBS Bank also launched crypto trading and custody services for its institutional clients.
|
