Tencent and Ant Group-Backed Banks to Join China’s Digital Yuan Trial: Report

MYbank and WeBank – institutions backed by Chinese giants Ant Group and Tencent, respectively – are reportedly set to join the ongoing trial of the digital yuan.

• Digital wallets from the two private banks will be added to the People's Bank of China’s digital yuan app alongside those from the six state-owned banks already participating, writes Bloomberg Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
• MYbank is already helping research and development on the central bank digital currency. The bank told Bloomberg it will "steadily advance the trial pursuant to the overall arrangement of the People’s Bank of China."
• China has been trying to curb the power of commercial payments companies, per the report, and the addition of MYbank and WeBank to the digital yuan trials could be a setback to firms like Alipay and WeChat Pay.
• If and when it is launched, the digital yuan would be the first national digital currency from a major country.
• The trial has so far seem multiple "lotteries" in which Chinese residents have been gifted the token to spend at local merchants with the appropriate technology to accept them.

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