Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 16th (Global Hotspot) Digital RMB is popular among many countries to accelerate the deployment of central bank digital currencies
Xinhua News Agency reporter
The 50,000 winners of Shenzhen’s “lucky ones” have started the novel experience of “buy, buy, buy” using digital RMB red envelopes from 18:00 on the 12th.
Different from electronic coupons, mobile payments, and virtual currencies, the digital renminbi red envelopes tested in Shenzhen this time were interpreted as "epoch-making" by experts.
In the 5G era, driverless cars, Internet of Things equipment, and industrial Internet will be widely used, and the demand for transactions between things will continue to increase. The current currency and financial system cannot meet these needs.
Digital RMB can help data platforms, financial companies, and all parties in the upstream and downstream industry chains optimize resource allocation, improve operational efficiency, and reduce operating costs.
While China is conducting pilot tests, major economies such as Japan and the Eurozone are also continuing to promote the development of central bank digital currencies.
【News facts】
The recently released "Shenzhen Construction of a Pilot Demonstration Zone of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Comprehensive Reform Pilot Implementation Plan (2020-2025)" proposes to support the development of internal closed pilot testing of digital renminbi, and promote the development and application of digital renminbi and international cooperation.
Starting at 18:00 on the 12th, the 50,000 digital RMB red envelopes distributed by Shenzhen to ordinary citizens can be used. This activity will end at 24:00 on October 18, but the digital RMB pilot test has ushered in a new stage. The landing application has higher expectations.
The Bank of Japan, the Central Bank of Japan, announced last week that it will launch an empirical experiment on the central bank's digital currency in fiscal 2021.
As early as January this year, the Bank of Japan announced the establishment of a special working group with some central banks and the Bank for International Settlements to jointly study and issue central bank digital currencies.
In June, initiated by three major banks including Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Mizuho Bank, Japan established a digital currency research group jointly organized by the government and the people to discuss the infrastructure construction of digital currency settlement.
The European Central Bank issued a report earlier this month that the bank plans to make a decision on whether to launch a digital euro project in mid-2021.
The European Central Bank launched a public consultation on the 12th to listen to the opinions of the public, academics, financial institutions, and public departments on the digital euro project.
【In-depth analysis】
The Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Yi Gang, clearly stated that the development and application of legal digital currency is conducive to efficiently satisfying the public’s demand for legal currency under the digital economy, improving the convenience, security and anti-counterfeiting level of retail payments, and boosting my country's digital economy has accelerated development.
Experts pointed out that although digital renminbi and mobile payment tools are very similar in terms of operating experience, there are essential differences between the two.
Digital renminbi is equivalent to banknotes and coins, with value characteristics and legal compensation.
Third-party Internet payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat Pay mainly rely on the deposit currency in commercial bank accounts, and their status is the payment channel of legal currency.
At the same time, the digital renminbi has the characteristics of controllable anonymity, technological neutrality, and programmability.
Based on these characteristics of the digital renminbi, there are still some issues that need to be discussed in depth in its future development.
For example, how to strike a balance between necessary supervision and privacy protection.
Lin Yazhi, a guest researcher at the International Exchange Center of Japan International University, said that the issuance of central bank digital currency is bound to have a great impact on the financial system, personal privacy protection and system security are also doubtful, and must undergo in-depth demonstration and preparation.
In addition, how to provide central bank funds in the digital society, while improving the private sector payment system, building a secure and stable digital payment infrastructure, and improving its interoperability in retail, wholesale, and cross-border payments must be considered in an overall manner.
【Instant Comment】
Ba Sipan, visiting professor at the National University of Singapore, said that the launch of digital currency is imperative.
There are two reasons: first, from the perspective of economic efficiency, the cost of maintaining paper currency payments is relatively high and it is not convenient to use; the introduction of digital currency, people no longer need to go to the bank to handle business, a smart phone that can provide basic financial services It can be operated conveniently and quickly, and it also improves the inclusiveness of financial services.
Second, there are fewer and fewer people using banknotes. The new crown epidemic has further accelerated this trend. Digital currencies are needed to cope with the decline in the use of banknotes.
In addition, as emerging technologies promote the development of the digital economy, innovative payment tools are required, and the development of digital currencies is the general trend.
[Background link]
In 2014, the People's Bank of China established a dedicated team to conduct special research on issues such as the digital currency issuance framework, key technologies, issuance and circulation environment, and related international experience.
Since the beginning of this year, China's legal digital currency research and development and testing have accelerated significantly.
The digital renminbi has been tested internally in closed pilot tests in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiongan New District, Chengdu and future Winter Olympic scenes, and has achieved initial results.
(Reporter: Liu Chunyan, Shen Zhonghao, Wang Lili; Editor: Xie Lin)