The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is making digital renminbi wallets available to consumers in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen.
The Shenzhen branch of ICBC has opened up to applications from customers seeking to obtain personal digital renminbi wallets, according to a 15 January report from Cailian She.
The move by ICBC’s Shenzhen branch comes just after a 20 million yuan digital renminbi lottery was held in the city’s Futian district on 4 January.
Big state-owned banks Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), ICBC, Bank of China (BOC) and China Construction Bank (CCB) announced in August of 2020 that they had commenced internal testing of digital renminbi wallets.
In October 2020 ICBC and ABC provided digital renminbi wallets to consumers in the Shenzhen district of Luohu, as part of a 10 million yuan “lottery” that saw 200 yuan in central bank digital currency issued to 50,000 winning participants.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) publicly announced in April last year that it was commencing trials of the digital renminbi in four main sites round China, including Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an and Chengdu.
According to domestic sources these trial cities could soon expand by six to include Shanghai, Changsha, Hainan, Qingdao, Dalian and Xi’an.
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