China is to start paying the salaries of some civil servants and public officials using its central bank digital currency (CBDC), it was reported today. The current take up of the digital yuan is unclear as statistics have not been published for more than six months. One effect of the staff payment initiative will be to boost the Chinese CBDC adoption figures.
Digital yuan pilots
Starting in May, all civil servants and public officials in Changshu – a city with 1.5 million people in Jiangsu province – will begin to receive the full amount of their wages in CBDC. The initiative is part of China’s broader efforts to increase the uptake of its digital RMB across a range of sectors.
Many cities have also introduced eCNY giveaways to boost consumption among tourists and local residents. However, these have only shown moderate success.
Accelerating take off
Like other CBDCs, the digital yuan has faced significant challenges in encouraging people’s widespread adoption. The latest statistics from August 2022 indicated that transaction numbers and…