Digital Yuan’s Potential Further Highlighted By Shenzhen Pilot Program

It was earlier this month when Shenzhen, China’s government officials had announced that it would enact a pilot program dedicated to the promotion of the Digital Yuan. This promotion came by way of a public giveaway, done in collaboration with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC).

Ten million Digital Yuan, worth around $1.5 million, was distributed to 50,000 respective winners, having been distributed by way of a lottery. This comes according to Sina Finance, a local news agency that reported about the matter.

Digital Yuan Expanding Through Giveaway

The Luohu Digital RMB Red Envelope event distributed 200 Renminbi per lottery winner. The money itself could be spent from the 12th and 18th of October, 2020, and can be used by any of the merchants within the Luohu District of Shenzhen, some 3,389 in total. Of course, there are rules to this giveaway, with the rules of use stating that this grant money cannot be redeemed in their own bank accounts, nor can it be transferred to another person.

The authorities of Shenzhen stated that 47,573 out of the 50,000 lottery winners had received their prizes in China. Furthermore, it was noted that the majority of these lottery winners had already spent their so-called “red envelopes” of Digital Yuan.

Some Terms And Conditions

As the announcement stipulated, 62,788 separate transactions were conducted by these winners, which accounted for 8.8 million Yuan, or about $1.3 million. This amount stands as approximately 88% of the total money distributed in the giveaway, which was 10 million Yuan, or around $1.5 million.

The announcement stated that some winners went further, topping up their wallets after they had spent their respective “red envelope.” Through doing so, an extra 901,000 Yuan was spent, or around $134,000.

The Shenzhen Digital Yuan giveaway program saw almost 2 million individuals apply to take part in it. It should be noted, however, that the lottery organizers stated that any unused amount of these Digital Yuan packets would be taken back, should the winners not spend the award by last Sunday.

China’s CBDC Continues To Develop

The entire goal of the event was to promote Digital Yuan, thus stimulating the consumption of it. This comes as China comes ever-close to creating a completely cashless society. The Chinese central bank digital currency (CBDC) has been in testing since April of this year, with the pilot program expanding into nine key cities of the country. This includes trials made in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, as well as Macau, and Hong Kong.