China woos new digital yuan users in major push That could make it hard for e-CNY to maintain momentum when the discounts and other incentives dry up. However, Alipay and WeChat Pay both allow users to pay while offline, and most mobile users in China already have these apps. If it were accepted widely across Beijing, she added, she would use it more because "it is relatively safe". "It was very convenient, as one can use it even without an internet connection," Zhang said. "Paying with e-CNY is similar to WeChat Pay and Alipay."īeijing resident Lily Zhang tried it last September at the China International Fair for Trade in Services, where she used the digital currency to buy drinks and an ice-cream. "I get 50 per cent off when using digital yuan to take the subway," he said. Photo: Bloomberg>Ĭhengdu resident Robin Deng said he downloaded the app last year and has been using it frequently since October to get discounts on public transport and shared bikes from Meituan. Photo: Bloomberg alt=Signage for the digital yuan, or e-CNY, next to a self checkout kiosks inside Wumei Technology Group's Wumart supermarket in Beijing on June 3, 2021. Signage for the digital yuan, or e-CNY, next to a self checkout kiosks inside Wumei Technology Group's Wumart supermarket in Beijing on June 3, 2021.
Both stores are popular options for Android users in mainland China, where Google Play is blocked.ĭo you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. However, it ranked just 43rd in Huawei's store on Monday, 10 spots higher than the previous day. It retained the top spot through Saturday before falling to second place behind Kuaishou.īy Monday, the app was the second most downloaded financial app in Xiaomi's app store, after topping the list last Wednesday, according to market researcher Qimai.
China's digital yuan wallet app has become one of the country's most downloaded apps within just a week of launching, a development that could disrupt a consumer payment market dominated by Alipay and WeChat Pay.ĭownloads of the e-CNY app, which currently operates in select cities, exceeded those of WeChat, the super app from Tencent Holdings with its own mobile payment function, to become the most popular app on Apple's iOS on Wednesday, a day after landing in app stores, according to market researcher App Annie.