Minsheng Bank in China has revealed a partnership with the e-commerce behemoth JD.com, which is enthusiastic about the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), to initiate a digital yuan-driven payment facility.
According to a report from Shzhidao (via Sohu), customers of Minsheng Bank situated in the CBDC test area can now synchronize their bank-provided digital wallets with their JD accounts to execute CBDC transactions on the platform.
JD.com is analogous to Amazon in the Chinese market.
From the onset of the pilot, the platform has been one of the most significant business associates of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), China’s central bank.
In a move to stimulate uptake, Minsheng has declared that customers who synchronize their wallets with their JD accounts will receive a single-use discount coupon worth more than $4 for transactions made with digital yuan tokens.
Moreover, customers who share the information about this promotional event on their social media platforms could be eligible for an additional e-CNY coupon valued at 88 yuan (approximately $12.30).
The number 8 is viewed as a symbol of luck in Chinese culture.
China Minsheng: Banks Making CBDC Moves
Minsheng’s recent initiative signifies that an increasing number of prominent Chinese banks are participating in the rapidly expanding digital yuan pilot project in the country.
Formally recognized as the China Minsheng Banking Corporation, the organization was established in 1996.
Until the beginning of this year, the majority of the banks involved in the pilot were state-controlled entities, such as the Bank of China and the Postal Savings Bank of China.
However, Minsheng stands out in this context.
It holds the distinction of being the first bank in China to be primarily owned by the private sector.
Over the years, the bank’s primary focus has been on extending loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Nonetheless, this isn’t Minsheng’s initial venture into the e-CNY sphere.
The bank has earlier initiated a digital yuan “salary service,” which permits companies to “directly” transfer funds to “corporate accounts” or remunerate their employees using the token.
Moreover, Minsheng has also launched a “one-click wallet check” feature that allows customers to “view and manage” multiple traditional accounts along with their digital yuan wallets.
The bank stated that “in the future,” it would persist in adding various “applications for the digital yuan.”
In early July, the Chinese branch of the Singaporean bank DBS declared it would introduce e-CNY solutions.
Additionally, a number of significant Chinese telecoms providers have shown interest in enhancing the deployment of digital yuan-related services following the PBoC’s unveiling of SIM card-compatible offline wallets.
