(Kitco News) – China continues to lead the pack on the central bank digital currency (CBDC) front as the first successful completion of a land transfer using the digital yuan has been conducted in the Chinese province of Fujian, according to reports.
The Fuzhou Institute of Foreign Languages and Foreign Studies has successfully paid the 51 million yuan land transfer fee for a plot of land using the digital renminbi public wallet that the school opened with the Fujian branch of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC). This marked the first such payment using the digital renminbi in Fujian Province.
The payment was facilitated by ABC Fujian Branch, which has also executed tax payments in Fujian using the e-CNY, the first tax payment by Taiwanese enterprises, the first offshore inclusive financial service point, and “many other initial demonstration scenarios.”
ABC Fujian Branch and Fuzhou University of Foreign Studies, along with other universities in Fuzhou, have also explored various other applications of digital RMB payments, including for use in the fields of campus dining, consumption, water and electricity, and party fees.
The Fujian Electronic Taxation Bureau facilitated the tax payment, which helped to expand the available applications of the digital renminbi from the commercial side to the government side.
It also showed that the system could handle both small and large sums of money, providing “a successful case for the comprehensive promotion of digital renminbi in non-tax collection fields such as land transfer fees.”
These developments in Fujian come after authorities in the region shut down a money laundering operation that utilized the e-CNY to facilitate a variety of criminal activities, including overseas gambling and electronic fraud.
On the global stage, China is at the forefront of CBDC development, with its e-CNY further ahead in development and testing than any of its counterparts.
In September, the People’s Bank of China expanded the e-CNY trial from a limited number of cities and areas to cover four provinces in the country. Data provided in July shows that there were more than 264 million digital yuan transactions processed year-to-date, with more than 4.5 million commercial outlets signed up for the service.
As of Sept. 13, the e-CNY total transaction volume for 2022 had surpassed 90 billion yuan, which equates to $15 billion.
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