Bank of China & E-commerce Giant Meituan Strike Digital Yuan Deal

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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October 23, 2023 05:06 EDT

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The Bank of China and the e-commerce heavy-hitter Meituan have signed a digital yuan collaboration deal, with both firms looking to step up their CBDC capabilities.

Per the Securities Times, via Stockstar, the two firms have sealed a “cooperation agreement” that will see them “deepen” their “digital yuan cooperation.”

The new deal will build on the firms’ existing CBDC partnership deal, signed back in 2021.

The companies’ new agreement will see them co-develop solutions that go beyond retail commerce, the initial focus of the pilot.

The two companies will instead also branch out into CBDC-powered corporate services.

They will also explore cross-border usage cases for the digital yuan.

They will also look beyond smartphone-based digital yuan usage “scenarios” and expand their adoption of “hardware wallets.”

“Hardware wallets” or “hard wallets” refer to smartcards, SIM cards, or wearable devices that do not require an internet connection to make payments.

Both China and Russia have insisted that their CBDCs will be available offline and to non-smartphone users to boost inclusivity.

In some parts of both nations, network connectivity remains an issue.

In China, you can order coffee to be delivered by a drone. The company Meituan is in charge of delivery.
It looks cool, of course, but to order a drink you have to register in an app, place an order, choose and find the nearest terminal. pic.twitter.com/o6Vd9jzz4x

— Mikhail Kulakov (@mikkulakov) September 1, 2023

Bank of China, Meituan to ‘Deepen’ Digital Yuan Partnership

The two firms signed their new agreement at a recent service trade fair.

And they underlined their commitment to using the e-CNY to “improve the availability and convenience of financial services.”

Early last year, Meituan announced that its Meituan Waimai food delivery network, one of the largest in the country, had added digital yuan payment options.

The company has also been trying to spur adoption by giving away digital yuan vouchers that can be redeemed on its sites, with would-be recipients obliged to open digital yuan wallets.

The Bank of China, meanwhile, has been working with another e-commerce heavyweight, JD.com, on a cross-border e-CNY pilot in Hong Kong.

The Bank of China conducted the first direct investment in yuan in #Argentina on Wednesday, marking a new milestone in the incorporation of China's currency as an asset in the South American country, according to Xinhua.pic.twitter.com/b1MbG4KBaf

— Zhang Meifang (@CGMeifangZhang) September 1, 2023

Last week, the Chinese town of Likou, in Siyang County, Jiangsu Province, agreed a deal with the Postal Savings Bank of China.

The agreement will see Likou become a digital yuan “demonstration town.”