• China’s largest messaging app and one of its biggest payment services, WeChat, will be adding support to the electronic yuan.
• The PBoC, the sovereign bank that issues digital money, is looking to broaden the public’s use of the virtual currency.
• Partnering with Wechat brings contact with over 1 billion potential customers, which could hopefully provide a boost to those using e-CNY.

Tencent is one of China’s largest technology companies and they develop WeChat, the country’s most popular messaging app. Starting next week, WeChat will also support the national digital currency.

China first started developing its digital yuan back in 2014 but progress has been slow. If WeChat users start using it though, it could provide the currency with some significant momentum if people begin to use it for payments.

There may be few people in the Western world who have never heard of WeChat, but it is well-spread in China, the world’s second-largest economy. WeChat is also heavily integrated with other applications such as messaging and ordering food. People can use it to hail a taxi or pay for their meals, making it a very convenient app to depend on.

With WeChat China started Blockchain based payments

WeChat Pay is a convenient payment method that enables customers to show a merchant a barcode on their phone to make a purchase or use it online. It has over 800 million monthly active users.

China is handing out limited quantities of digital yuan or e-CNY via lotteries. The trial has only been conducted in select cities to date.

Chinese regulators seem to be taking a cautious approach to the digital yuan and it remains to be seen if and when they might push the digital currency into wider use. PBOC launched an e-CNY app this week for users in certain regions and cities. The app enables anyone in those areas to download & register for digital currency. It was previously only available on an invite-only basis

Alipay by Alibaba affiliate Ant Group is targeting the digital yuan in China. Alipay has also begun trialing WeChat payments but this could potentially challenge Tencent’s WeChat app.

Now, with WeChat & Alipay onboard, the PBOC has managed to get more citizens to start using its digital currency.

China’s Central Bank has been taking serious strides to introduce the e-CNY ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. It is said that this will happen in time for the event in China’s capital city.

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