China’s 'digital yuan' moving smoothly with millions of transactions

China’s pilot program for digital yuan is moving in full swing, with over 2 billion yuan ($299 million) used in over 4 million transactions, People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Yi Gang said.

As per Bloomberg, the pilot project was launched in four cities earlier this year in October. The PBOC made the decision to issue 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) worth of digital currency to 50,000 people chosen by a lottery in the country's first trial run of its cashless payment system.

As per details, the program saw almost 2 million applicants and the winners were chosen at random, the digital yuan they received were used between Oct. 12 and 18 at over 3,000 designated shops.

Talking about the benefits of FinTechs, PBOC Governor Yi while speaking at Hong Kong FinTech Week said that FinTech companies have some "key advantages" over traditional banks in terms of developing a customer base and curbing risk. He praised financial inclusion, with microloans and mobile payments bridging a gap for rural residents but said protecting peoples' private information is still challenging.

Yi added that the growth in contactless banking amid the coronavirus pandemic has created a challenges for central banks. The governor was of the view that the central banks will now work on creating a balance between customer safety alongside providing convenience of using the bank's services.