China's digital yuan has gained no interest from citizens so far as the cumulative circulation of the digital currency in the two years of the trial has been only 100 billion yuan ($14 billion), Xie Ping, a former official of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said on Wednesday, CNA reports.
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Xie emphasized that the figure shows that "usage has been low, highly inactive" and that the "results are not ideal." The former official thinks that China should move from the consumption-only model for its digital currency so that people would be interested in using it. He added:
"Cash, bank cards and China's third-party payment mechanisms have formed a payment market structure that has met needs for daily consumption. The common people are used to it, and changing it is difficult."
In mid-October, the PBoC said that the number of transactions completed with the digital yuan in 15 provinces reached 360 million. In particular, the so-called e-CNY currency was accepted at 5.6 million merchants. The central bank's report also said that multiple e-government service platforms had opened up services to process e-CNY receipts for utility bills, tax refunds, and monthly health insurance payments.
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