Alipay Now Allows Users To Spend Digital RMB: Pay With The Wave Of A Hand

Li Chen, Chief Compliance Officer of Ant Group, revealed that Alipay, a third-party mobile and online payment platform, had joined the digital RMB (renminbi) acceptance network, as reported by Sina Technology News, on December 12th.

It was also the first payment platform to support the digital renminbi. A digitalized version of China’s official currency, the renminbi (RMB), the e-CNY, is also known as the digital yuan. 

It is issued by the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank (PBOC). It is primarily made to be used for frequent, modest-sized retail purchases and transactions.

However, currently, the network supports Taobao, a Chinese online marketplace, for them to use digital RMB for their purchases, and related services are being released one after another.

Once an individual has downloaded the Digital Renminbi App from any authorized computer or device to open the digital RMB wallet, they can utilize the app’s various features for immediate transactions to Alipay.

All of the e-commerce websites operated by Alibaba Group Holding will soon support express payments by integrating the Digital Yuan into AliPay. It includes venues such as Taobao, Shanghai Bus, Hungry Leome, Youbao, and Tmall Supermarket, among others.

Additionally, users can look for “playing with digital renminbi” on the Alipay App to get instructions on how to use it, making it easier for them to utilize digital renminbi.

Acceptance Of Digital RMB In China

Both China’s central government and local administrations are encouraging its residents to use the digital yuan. The digital yuan is not dependent on a blockchain, unlike Bitcoin, and is directly issued by the nation’s central bank.

On the front end, transactions are similar to the Chinese yuan (renminbi), but no mediator is taking a cut on the back end. Payments jump from one e-wallet to another just as easily as if they were being handed over in person.

However, the project is being driven in part by China’s leadership’s awareness of how the nation has fallen behind in prior technologies, from internet development to space exploration.

Following this, India’s central bank said earlier last month that it would start introducing a digital form of the rupee. Brazil had intended to introduce a digital real this year, but it has delayed the launch until 2024.

China has a vast population that doesn’t use credit cards and therefore has an easy time adapting to these new technologies. Therefore, the nation is in a prime position to leapfrog the West in terms of adopting digital currency.

Mobile payments exploded when they were implemented in China because many people there don’t have credit cards or are uncomfortable using them. This new method of using Digital RMB via Alipay can make their lives much easier for them.

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