Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi has reported it plans to test China's central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to an official announcement shared yesterday.
The company says it has signed an agreement with the People's Bank of China's Digital Currency Research Institute (PBOC) to test the digital yuan, the central bank's digital currency - officially known as the Digital Currency Electronic Payments (DCEP).
The company says the "DCEP will become a key infrastructure of the digital economy."
Even though the details of the collaboration are not yet known, thanks to Didi's huge user base of over 550 million users, this could become one of the first practical applications of the digital yuan in the real world.
Didi already offers a wide variety of payment methods to its customers, including Alipay and WeChat, so it's not surprising it has decided to test the country's new digital currency.
The People's Bank of China started to develop the digital yuan back in 2014, while the tests, in which 7 state-owned companies, including four commercial banks and 3 telecommunication companies are taking part, began a few months ago.
Some well-known companies such as Starbucks, McDonald's and Subway have also shown their interest in testing the digital yuan.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.