Athletes and foreign visitors would have access to the application or physical card to use e-CNY. Foreign currencies can also get converted into e-CNY through ATMs.
China’s government will, for the first time ever, allow foreign nationals to use its central bank digital currency (CBDC), known as the digital yuan, or e-CNY. Bloomberg reported on January 11 that Athletes and visitors present in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics would use the currency before the event takes place.
According to the report, the People’s Bank of China (BPC) intends to test how receptive foreigners are to the digital yuan.
The measure comes after countries such as the US, Japan, Australia, Great Britain, and Canada announced that Government representatives would not go to the sporting event as part of their delegations. These countries affirmed that the diplomatic boycott responds to the violations of rights in the Asian nation.
The report notes that “China would be looking to use games to show the influence of the digital yuan globally.” The Chinese issuing entity intended that the winter Olympics become the perfect scenario to encourage the massive use of its official digital currency.
The Exclusive Use of e-CNY
Chinese government spokespersons have expressed the intention to test if their digital currency can compete with the US dollar as an international unit of account. This goal would justify measures like the outlawing of activities related to Bitcoin, which would force the exclusive use of e-CNY as a digital currency, at least in Chinese territory.
In these weeks before the Winter Olympic Games, scheduled for February 4 to 20, non-residents will be able to choose between downloading an application or purchasing a physical card to manage digital yuan. In addition, the foreigners will have the option of using ATMs activated to exchange foreign currency for ee-CNY.
Likewise, athletes and coaches will obtain a bracelet that works as a cold wallet, which can get slipped at points of sale to make payments. In the Olympic village, only Visa cards, digital yuan, and Chinese physical currency, known within the country as the renminbi, will serve as a legal method of payment.
Although the BPC recently closed an alliance with WeChat Pay, one of the digital payment platforms most used by the Chinese, the application will not serve for use in sports facilities. Neither does Alipay, another popular digital payment medium in China, actively operating with e-CNY since last May.
China has been working on its official digital currency since 2014. Last year the BPC carried out multiple trials to test the digital yuan in different areas within the country. By the end of 2021, about 10% of the population is already using the Chinese government’s CBDC.
By: Jenson Nuñez
