Beijing to dispatch digital RMB to individuals

Beijing will dispatch 200,000 red envelopes worth 200 yuan ($31.33) each to lucky applicants, the Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration on Tuesday.

Applications will be accepted from June 5 to 7 via the apps of Bank of China or Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Individual consumers are welcomed to apply by searching key words: Jingcai or digital renminbi in Chinese as long as he or she is located in Beijing.

The 200 yuan digital renminbi in the red envelope can be spent at nearly 2,000 designated commercial entities in core commercial districts in Beijing from June 11 to 20.

The giveaway is a test to ensure the pilot work for digital renminbi has been carried out in an orderly and market-oriented method, fintech expert Su Xiaorui said.

As of October 2020, Shanghai, Hainan, Changsha, Xi'an, Qingdao and Dalian had been newly added as six pilot zones for digital renminbi in China, Beijing Daily reported from the country's central bank, adding so far a "10+1" format for digital renminbi testing has taken shape, if Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiongan, Chengdu and Beijing are included.

China will continue its pilot work in digitalizing its currency by expending pilot areas, forging ecosystems, improving systemic safety and formulating law and supervision systems, according to Li Bo, vice-governor of the central bank.