Changsha, China: 300,000 of Our Merchants Accept Digital Yuan

Over 300,000 stores and vendors in Changsha, China, now accept digital yuan payment – as the central bank digital currency continues to break new ground in the country.

According to the Province of Hunan’s official newspaper, at the end of 2022, “more than 300,000 digital yuan merchants” now operate in Changsha. The city claimed that “more than 53.25 million” digital yuan transactions have been processed by its residents. In total, transactions worth over $1.2 billion have been processed to date in Changsha.

The city is home to just under 8 million people and is Hunan’s capital. It was added to the digital yuan pilot in April 2021 – in the second batch of “pilot” cities, alongside Shanghai, Hainan, Xi’an, Qingdao, and Dalian.

The pilot began in earnest in April 2020, with citizens in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Xiong’an the first to use the coin.

The pilot has since expanded to 17 cities, with Hong Kong and Macau now also working with the Beijing-based central bank on testing “cross-border” functionality.

Digital Yuan Adoption Drive Gathers Pace in Changsha and Beyond

Changsha added that per data from the central People’s Bank of China (PBoC), Changsha has “repeatedly ranked among the top areas” for the accumulated number of personal digital wallets opened, business transactions, and monthly active wallets.

Last month’s Lunar New Year celebrations saw the PBoC and its commercial partners embark on further adoption drives, with a number of token giveaways in Hangzhou and Beijing.

In Tianjin, the state-owned China Construction Bank offered customers discounts of up to 50% when visiting movie theaters, dining out, or shopping – provided they used the digital yuan to pay their bills.

And in Shenzhen, the media outlet JRJ reported the local government gave away $15,000 worth of digital yuan vouchers yesterday – with a maximum value of just under $100.

The vouchers can be redeemed at local food stores and restaurants that accept digital yuan payments.