China has been making immense progress in terms of its central bank digital currency [CBDC]. While countries across the globe have just initiated the research phase of their native CBDC, China’s digital yuan is already being used by the public. After being employed across various sectors, the Chinese government has decided to induce the digital yuan into the insurance industry.
China took the lead in the development of CBDC and managed to get on a pedestal with its fast-paced approach. The latest news reveals how much progress the country has been making.
A news portal noted that the digital yuan had ventured into the insurance industry. This program is being carried out by a local branch of the People’s Bank of China [PBoC], and the policies were issued in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province. Shenzhen subsidiary of Pingan Property Insurance
China continues to stay ahead in the CBDC game
The first batch of the Chinese CBDC insurance policies was issued by the PBoC’s Shenzen branch. With its latest move, the central bank of the region along with the government hopes to expand the use of the digital yuan across several industries. Previously, the use of the CBDC was limited to merely e-commerce platforms and for online payments.
Speaking about the advancement of the digital yuan, Wang Peng, an assistant professor at the Gaoling School of Artificial Intelligence at the Renmin University of China stated,
“As more users get used to making payments with the digital yuan and the market matures, the application scenarios will be able to expand from the insurance industry to more scenarios such as financial services, life services, and even the purchase of funds and trading in securities.”
While the country has been making headway in this area, certain US senators recently expressed angst against the use of the digital yuan during the 2022 Olympics. The senators suggested that the Asian country would employ the digital yuan to surveil American athletes.
However, the country’s central bank, PBoC, hit back and released a statement that read,
“The US politicians should abide by the spirit stipulated in the Olympic Charter, stop making sports a political matter and stop making troubles out of the digital currency in China.”