What Is the Digital Yuan (e-CNY) and How Does It Work?

The digital yuan, or e-CNY, is the digital form of China’s currency, the renminbi, issued by the People’s Bank of China and distributed by authorized banks. It has the same legal status and value as cash. People pay with it in the e-CNY app or with cards and wearables, and since January 1, 2026, real-name wallets earn interest.

Key takeaways

• The e-CNY is legal tender issued by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and operated by authorized operators, which are commercial banks.
• Since January 1, 2026, the balances of real-name e-CNY wallets earn interest at the demand deposit rate, while anonymous wallets earn none.
• By the end of November 2025, the e-CNY had processed 3.48 billion transactions worth 16.7 trillion yuan in total.
• Visitors can open a wallet in the e-CNY app with a mobile number from more than 210 countries and regions, without a Chinese bank account.
• Merchants accept the e-CNY through QR codes, contactless POS terminals and online checkouts that open the e-CNY app.

For a business that sells to Chinese consumers, the e-CNY is one more payment method to consider alongside Alipay and WeChat Pay. When you are ready to add Chinese payment methods to your website or Mini Program, our team can integrate Chinese payment methods that match your market and your legal setup.

What Is the Digital Yuan (e-CNY)?

The digital yuan is also known as the e-CNY, e-RMB, digital renminbi or Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP). In its 2021 white paper on the e-CNY, the PBOC defines it as the digital version of China’s fiat currency, issued by the central bank and operated by authorized operators. Like banknotes, it is legal tender and a claim on the central bank, with the same legal status and economic value as physical RMB. The PBOC issues both in parallel and has said it will not replace cash as long as people need it.

The e-CNY does not ask everyday users in China to adjust to a new technology. Mobile payments were already widespread, thanks to Alipay (launched in 2004) and WeChat Pay (launched in 2013). In a 2019 PBOC survey quoted in the white paper, mobile payments accounted for 66 percent of the number of transactions and 59 percent of their value, against 23 and 16 percent for cash.

The PBOC gives the e-CNY two main goals: offer the public a digital form of cash, including people without a bank account, and support fair competition, efficiency and safety in retail payments.

A Short History of the Digital Yuan

• 2014: the PBOC set up a task force to study a digital fiat currency.
• 2016: it established its Digital Currency Institute, which built a first proof of concept.
• End of 2017: with the approval of the State Council, the PBOC started to develop and test the e-CNY with large commercial banks, telecom operators and Internet companies.
• End of 2019: pilots started in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an, Chengdu and areas of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Shanghai, Hainan, Changsha, Xi’an, Qingdao and Dalian joined in November 2020.
• June 30, 2021: more than 20.87 million personal wallets and 3.51 million corporate wallets had been opened, for 70.75 million transactions worth about RMB 34.5 billion.
• October 2022: the PBOC reported 360 million e-CNY transactions worth RMB 100.04 billion in pilot areas of 15 provinces and municipalities, and more than 5.6 million stores accepting the e-CNY. It was also used during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
• End of November 2025: 3.48 billion transactions worth 16.7 trillion yuan had been processed in total, with 230 million personal wallets opened through the e-CNY app and 18.84 million corporate wallets, according to figures published on the website of Shanghai’s municipal financial office.
• January 1, 2026: real-name wallets started to earn interest (see below).

Internet companies also have a place in the system: MYbank, linked to Alipay, and WeBank, linked to Weixin Pay, are among the authorized operators that open e-CNY wallets. Cross-border use is being tested too. By the end of November 2025, the multilateral central bank digital currency bridge (mBridge) had processed 4,047 cross-border payments worth the equivalent of 387.2 billion yuan, and the e-CNY accounted for about 95.3 percent of that value.

How Does the Digital Yuan Work?

From a technical point of view, the digital yuan has little in common with Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies claim to be decentralized and entirely anonymous. The e-CNY follows a centralized management model, and its issuance and circulation are basically identical to those of physical RMB, according to the PBOC.

It works in two tiers. The PBOC issues the e-CNY to authorized operators, which are commercial banks, and they provide exchange and circulation services to the public, together with other commercial institutions.

Four design choices shape how people use it:

• Loosely coupled with bank accounts. A wallet does not have to be linked to a bank account, and payments are settled as soon as they are made.
• Managed anonymity. The principle is anonymity for small payments and traceability for large ones, to protect privacy while preventing fraud and money laundering.
• Wallets by level of identity check. Operators open different wallet categories depending on the strength of the know-your-customer (KYC) check, with per-transaction, daily and balance limits. The most basic wallets can be opened without providing an identity and upgraded later with a real-name check.
• Software and hardware wallets. Software wallets work through mobile apps, SDKs and APIs; hardware wallets use security chips in cards, phones, wearables and other devices. A parent wallet can have sub-wallets, which companies use to pool and distribute funds.

For everyday users, the e-CNY looks like other mobile payment systems and offers a similar experience to Alipay and WeChat Pay.

What Changed in 2026: e-CNY Wallets Now Earn Interest

Until the end of 2025, the e-CNY was positioned as M0, like cash, and paid no interest. The PBOC’s 2021 white paper explained that this choice reduced competition with bank deposits.

The PBOC then issued an action plan on the management and infrastructure of the e-CNY. From January 1, 2026, according to a report published on the website of Shanghai’s municipal financial office:

• Banks pay interest on the balances of real-name e-CNY wallets, at the demand deposit rate for now.
• Anonymous wallets earn no interest, because the owner of the funds cannot be identified.
• The safety of e-CNY balances is backed by the deposit insurance fund.
• Non-bank payment institutions that take part in e-CNY services still have to set aside a 100 percent e-CNY margin.

The title of that report sums up the change: the e-CNY moves up from cash to deposit money.

Digital Yuan vs Alipay and WeChat Pay

The e-CNY does not replace Alipay and WeChat Pay: it works alongside them. Online platforms such as DiDi, Meituan, Ctrip and Qunar let users choose the e-CNY at checkout, which opens the e-CNY app, according to the PBOC’s e-CNY guide for visitors to China.

Compared with private wallets, the e-CNY brings a few differences:

• Legal tender. The e-CNY is a claim on the central bank, which the PBOC describes as the safest asset in China.
• No bank account required. Basic wallets work without a bank account, which helps people who do not have one, and foreign visitors.
• Offline and contactless payments. Users can tap a phone chip wallet, a card or a wearable on a merchant’s POS terminal. Some phones can still pay when they are powered off, and the PBOC has studied dual offline payments, where neither device is connected.
• Wallets without a smartphone. Hardware wallets include cards, cards with an e-ink screen, wristbands, badges, SIM cards and even a senior citizen ID card.
• No fees for individual users. According to the white paper, the PBOC does not charge operators for exchange and circulation services, and operators do not charge individual users for e-CNY services.

The e-CNY was also designed so that foreign visitors can pay without opening a Chinese bank account. Visitors have other options today: as of April 2024, foreign users could link international credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard to Alipay and WeChat Pay, with a single transaction limit of 5,000 US dollars and an annual cap of 50,000 dollars, according to China’s government website. Our comparison of Alipay and WeChat Pay explains how the two wallets differ.

How to Open a Digital Yuan Wallet

You need the e-CNY app. The steps below follow the PBOC’s guide for visitors to China, published in March 2024:

1. Search for “e-CNY” in the App Store or Google Play, then download and install the e-CNY app.
2. Open the app and tap “Sign up” to register with your mobile number. Numbers from more than 210 countries and regions are accepted.
3. Tap “Open/Add e-CNY Wallets” and choose an authorized operator, such as ICBC, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, Agricultural Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, Industrial Bank, MYbank (Alipay) or WeBank (Weixin Pay).
4. Link a Visa or Mastercard card, or, with some operators, a Hong Kong bank account through FPS, so the wallet is topped up as you pay.
5. To pay, scan the merchant’s QR code, show your payment code, or tap your phone on the POS terminal, then enter your payment PIN when asked.

The e-CNY app when it was still labeled as a pilot version (试点版)

An anonymous wallet needs no passport, no visit to a bank counter and no bank account in mainland China. Its payment cap is CNY 2,000 per transaction and CNY 5,000 per day. Wallet categories with higher limits require a real-name identity check. Visitors can also top up their wallet with RMB or foreign currency banknotes at an operator’s bank counter.

How Can Merchants Accept the Digital Yuan?

Merchants in China accept the e-CNY through an authorized operator or through a licensed payment institution that takes part in e-CNY services. Payments arrive in a corporate wallet: legal persons and other organizations can open one, its functions can be customized, and sub-wallets help pool and distribute funds.

The PBOC’s guide describes four ways for a customer to pay:

Payment method	How it works
Scan to pay	The customer scans the merchant’s e-CNY QR code and enters the amount
Payment code	The merchant scans the payment code shown in the customer’s app; small payments under 500 yuan can skip the PIN
Tap to pay	The customer taps a phone chip wallet, a card or a wearable on the merchant’s POS terminal
Online checkout	The merchant’s app or website opens the e-CNY app to confirm the payment

For an online store or a Mini Program, accepting the e-CNY means connecting your checkout to the interface of an operator or a payment institution: according to the white paper, software wallets provide services through apps, SDKs and APIs. Ask your bank or acquirer whether the e-CNY is available for your business.

What Should You Do Next?

If you sell to consumers in China, the e-CNY is worth watching: 230 million personal wallets had been opened by the end of November 2025, and apps such as DiDi, Meituan, Ctrip and Qunar already offer it at checkout. For most online stores, Alipay and WeChat Pay remain the first methods to offer, as our guide to China payment gateways explains, with the e-CNY as an addition where your bank or acquirer supports it.

From Shanghai, QPSoftware has integrated Chinese payment methods for its clients, for instance WeChat Pay in the WeChat Mini Programs of Huttopia and Ma France. Talk to our team about China payment gateway integration to decide which methods your store needs and how to connect them.

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