This new wallet aims to further expand the use of digital yuan by offering dynamic QR codes and offline payment features.

According to the news published in the Global Times on November 7, 2024, the digital yuan card allows users to make online and offline payments.

This card is a payment tool similar to traditional bank cards and offers more flexible payment options to its users.

The digital yuan card was introduced for the first time at the 18th Shenzhen International Financial Fair. The card can work with two payment options: “tap-to-pay” and “scan-to-pay”.

In this way, cardholders can make payments via POS terminals, browsers or mobile devices. Additionally, the card’s screen shows balance and payment details and allows users to use dynamic QR codes to make payments.

An important advantage of this technology is that users can also pay offline. The digital yuan card has a 1 mm thick structure and is very useful in terms of portability.

The digital yuan wallet was first used in pilot projects in 2021 and has since been integrated into the HarmonyOS system, reaching a wider user base. This wallet can be used without requiring a special application, which makes the user experience very easy.

In cities such as Qingdao in China’s Shandong Province, the digital yuan wallet can even be used for public transportation payments. This is an indication that digital yuan is starting to find more space in daily life.

However, the digital yuan has not gained major traction since its launch in 2020. Many Chinese officials prefer not to hold money in this digital currency because the digital yuan does not offer interest and has limited usage. This situation prevents the use of digital yuan from becoming widespread.

In addition, there are reports that Beijing is forcing local payment giants to reduce their market shares to make more room for the digital yuan.

It is known that WeChat Pay and Alipay continue to dominate China’s mobile payment ecosystem. The market share of these giants makes digital yuan adoption difficult.

The Chinese government is following many different strategies to popularize the digital yuan. On the one hand, it tries to bring digital yuan to more users, and on the other hand, it aims to limit the power of local payment companies.

It is stated that large companies such as Tencent Holdings face pressures regarding digital yuan. Chinese regulators want these companies to reduce their market share and are taking various measures to ensure greater acceptance of the digital yuan.

The introduction of the digital yuan card can be considered as part of these efforts. This card is a tool designed to make digital yuan more prevalent in daily life. Digital yuan’s offline payment features stand out as an important step to expand the use of the card to a wider audience.

However, there are still many obstacles to widespread adoption of digital yuan. In particular, disadvantages such as not offering interest income and limited usage area limit users’ interest in digital yuan.

The steps the Chinese government will take regarding the digital yuan will be more decisive in the coming period. For the digital yuan to solidify its place in China’s financial system, it may need to add more user-friendly features and increase public confidence in the digital currency.