China’s Digital Yuan Experiment Expands to Insurance, Fund Management: Report

State-owned banks are exploring the use of the central bank digital currency in higher-value payments

AccessTimeIconAug 31, 2021 at 12:14 p.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 3:23 a.m. UTC
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China’s state-owned Bank of Communications (Bocom) and China Construction Bank are discussing how the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) could be used to buy investment funds and insurance, the South China Morning Post reported Tuesday.

  • The talks may lead to the currency finding a use outside of the daily, low-value payments originally envisioned for the program.
  • For investments, China Construction Bank is working with Shanghai Tiantian Fund Distribution, the newspaper said, citing the bank’s earnings report. JC.com, an e-commerce company, is also involved.
  • Bocom is looking at the CBDC’s uses, including insurance, executive vice-president Qian Bin said at an earnings briefing on Friday, according to the SCMP. Qian did not identify its partners in the project.
  • So far, the currency’s uses have included subway fares and wages in the construction industry. It’s also planned to be used in the Winter Olympics hosted by Beijing next year.
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    Sheldon Reback

    Sheldon Reback is a CoinDesk news editor based in London. He owns a small amount of ether.


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