Tencent-owned WeChat to support Chinese digital yuan

• The Chinese tech firm has added support for the country’s digital currency to its WeChat Pay wallet

• WeChat users can now pay using China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) via a new access point

Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent-owned messaging app, WeChat, will begin supporting the digital yuan. The Chinese tech firm has added support for the country’s digital currency to its WeChat Pay wallet.

WeChat has one of the country’s biggest payment services, WeChat Pay, with nearly a billion users. WeChat Pay allows users to show merchants a barcode on their phone to pay for items in-store. It can also be used for purchases online. It will begin supporting the country’s sovereign digital currency.

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China is yet to roll out its digital currency nationwide on which it has been working since 2014. WeChat’s move to support the digital currency could provide it with a huge boost if people begin to pay with it.

WeChat users can now pay using China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) via a new access point in the messaging app’s payment service, the state-run China Daily reported on Thursday.

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Users need to verify their identity using the digital yuan wallet app - or “e-CNY” app - developed by China’s central bank that was launched earlier this week.

The digital yuan will be tested at the Winter Olympics in Beijing which begins from February 4. This will be the first time international visitors will have access to it.

CoinDesk reported China is the most advanced among major economies with its CBDC development. The digital yuan has been undergoing trials around the country for well over a year now and had settled $9.7 billion worth of transactions as of the end of October 2021.

Picture Credits: FT