A visitor displays a cup of coffee purchased with China's digital yuan, or the e-CNY, at an exhibition of the 6th Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, April 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- China has upgraded its digital yuan infrastructure to integrate a wider range of payment and financial services, unveiling an upgraded central bank system for the digital yuan and a framework for smart contract services aimed at lowering operating costs and expanding the currency's use.
The E-CNY Operation Management Center, established by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), announced the two developments on Wednesday at a parallel session on the digital yuan of the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2026 in Beijing.
The upgrade follows the digital yuan's transition to a new operating framework on Jan. 1, 2026, moving it beyond a cash-like digital payment instrument toward a form of digital deposit money, according to the PBOC.
The upgraded system integrates issuance management, retail and wholesale payments, blockchain and smart contract services. It is designed to lower system integration and liquidity management costs, and support applications ranging from everyday payments to trade financing and financial settlements, a PBOC digital currency research official said.
The smart contract service framework is designed to promote the sharing and reuse of services and resources, and enable financial institutions to flexibly combine services to meet customer needs.
By the end of September this year, cumulative digital yuan transactions had reached 4.3 billion, with a total value of about 31 trillion yuan (about 4.61 trillion U.S. dollars), according to the latest figures.
In September, the number of transactions totaled 99.67 million, worth about 1.87 trillion yuan, up 12 percent and 123 percent year on year, respectively.
The PBOC began researching digital currency in 2014 and launched pilot programs in late 2019. The digital yuan has since been tested in areas including retail payments, public services and cross-border settlements.
A single purchase
