On August 14, the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Comprehensive Deepening of Service Trade Innovation and Development Pilot Program". The program proposes to carry out digital RMB pilot projects in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the pilot areas in the central and western regions where conditions permit. The People's Bank of China formulates policy guarantee measures; first, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou, Xiong'an New District and other places and relevant departments of the future Winter Olympics will assist in the promotion, and follow-up will be expanded to other regions as appropriate.
A major feature of the central bank's digital currency is that it is a legal tender issued by the central bank and has the same effect as the paper renminbi. In practice, the central bank's digital currency is first exchanged by the central bank to banks or other operating institutions, and then exchanged to the public by these institutions.
User side: personal payment habits may change
The central bank's digital currency is legal tender, while WeChat Pay and Alipay are just a payment method, and their effectiveness is different. Specifically, if institutions or individuals do not accept Alipay or WeChat payments, there is no legal problem. But it is illegal to refuse users to use cash or digital currency to pay. In addition, behind the legal currency is the national credit. The central bank's digital currency is more secure and can be used in a wider range in the future, and there is no need to bind bank accounts.
In 2020, with the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, many people's living habits and work patterns have changed, leading to the development of new economic formats. The electronic currency technology represented by Alipay and WeChat has been very mature. However, the third-party payment platform only acts as an intermediary, and its transaction process still requires the network as the carrier, and the digital currency can support offline payment after downloading the data package through the mobile phone in advance, which is suitable for scenarios where the communication infrastructure is seriously insufficient. Very attractive. In addition, digital currency is settled immediately after the payment is completed. Unlike electronic currency that still needs to be settled through the clearing system after payment, individual consumers may not feel deeply about this, but it is effective for institutional users engaged in large-value transactions. Improved payment efficiency.
In addition to the expansion of scenarios and the improvement of efficiency, the payment and settlement cost of digital currency is negligible. In contrast, due to the existence of third-party platforms, electronic currency faces more types of handling fees. The advantage of digital currency is for both parties. It is undoubtedly attractive.
Bank end: opportunities and challenges coexist
Discussing the central bank's digital currency should pay attention to its "currency" attribute. As a currency that is about to be tested by the market, the central bank's digital currency needs to obtain a "consensus" from many parties to ensure that it can become a currency that can rival physical currency and electronic currency. In addition, only through market inspections can we obtain the accumulation of massive data, clarify the application characteristics of digital currencies in different scenarios, and then improve the security of digital currencies through technical iterations.
For banks, in addition to seizing the opportunities brought by digital currency, some businesses will also face new challenges. Digital currency has high security, no transaction costs, and unlimited legal reimbursement. Customers and merchants will be more motivated to use it. It will replace traditional bank transfer and remittance, bank card consumption, bank card special accounts and other products. Based on the central bank's positioning of digital wallets, the central bank's digital currency is very likely to directly compete with the mobile Internet payment products currently promoted by banks.
Pilot cities: a touchstone full of challenges and expectations
Analyzing the pilot areas of the central bank's digital currency, with good infrastructure and business environment, rich and high-frequency transaction scenarios, and various possible transactions are undoubtedly the best litmus test to verify the performance of digital currency; on the other hand, At present, the electronic money payment system in the pilot area is also very complete, and users of online payment methods are relatively sticky. Although people are tolerant of new things, digital money should not cause an "impact" on electronic money payment in the short term.
The outlook of digital currency: both a financial product and a governance tool
Looking to the long-term future, the implementation of digital currency can play a positive role in tracking abnormal transactions and discovering financial risks. The transaction data generated by digital currency will be incorporated into the personal customer data system with a high probability. Financial institutions can use big data analysis to accurately outline customer portraits and further tap customer value. The precipitation of these data can also provide effective decision-making basis for the government, realize smart government, and improve work efficiency. (Text丨Xu Junming)