Chengdu to hand out digital money

Chengdu, Sichuan province, will issue 200,000 digital red envelopes starting from 8 am on Wednesday to 12 pm on Thursday, making the western city the fourth to issue digital currency, according to a notice released by the Chengdu Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau.

Jointly organized by the Chengdu municipal government and the Chengdu Branch of the People's Bank of China, it will issue 200,000 digital red envelopes of e-CNY — China's digital currency — totaling 40 million yuan ($6.2 million).

Anyone working or living in Chengdu can apply for the envelopes, which have two face values — 178 yuan and 238 yuan. Whether an applicant can get one (or which face-value) will be determined by lottery, the bureau said.

After winning a digital red envelope of e-CNY, the lucky winner can spend the digital money in more than 11,000 stores in Chengdu that can accept e-CNY as well as in the Jingdong Mall.

One of the first e-CNY pilot cities, Chengdu is the fourth to issue digital red envelopes after Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and Beijing.

The total sum of its envelopes is the highest of the other three cities, and more envelopes will be given than in the others.

Of the 40-million-yuan e-CNY red envelopes, 30 million yuan is from the Chengdu government. The rest is from the e-commerce giant Jingdong (JD.com).