Overview
- The People’s Bank of China approved eight additional commercial banks on Monday, Aug. 17, raising the number of authorized e‑CNY operators to 30 and expanding the network of customer-facing distributors.
- The newly approved lenders — including Ping An Bank, Bank of Shanghai and Bank of Hangzhou — have been technically linked to the central e‑CNY system and will start services after each completes business and technical preparations.
- A policy shift that took effect on Jan. 1, 2026 allows banks to pay interest on verified e‑CNY wallets and places eligible balances under China’s national deposit insurance, moving those holdings closer to traditional deposits.
- China is also testing cross‑border uses of the digital yuan, with a July China–Singapore settlement routed entirely in e‑CNY via the upgraded CBETS platform and other pilot links being developed for regional trade zones.
- Despite institutional build‑out, retail adoption lags behind Alipay and WeChat Pay, so the bank expansion may widen distribution and influence how deposit flows, payment firms’ business models, and regional pilots evolve.