HONG KONG—China is calling on private-sector pioneers Ant Group Co. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. to help it develop aThe People’s Bank of China in recent months has accelerated the testing of its digital yuan, putting the operators of Alipay and WeChat Pay in a difficult spot: They have little choice but to take part, despite the risk of eroding the huge user bases they have grown over years. Most of China’s 1.4 billion people use at least one of the private services to make mobile payments.
Last week, in its first white paper on the subject, the PBOC said the e-CNY is being developed mainly for domestic retail payments. It said China needs payment services “that are more convenient, safe, inclusive and privacy friendly” and a payments infrastructure that is interoperable across platforms.
While the 16-page document didn’t mention Alipay and WeChat Pay by name, it noted the dwindling use of cash in China—a result of the two networks’ dominance. Since Alipay pioneered digital payments more than a decade ago, followed by WeChat, the population has come toThe PBOC said the e-CNY would be circulated via approved commercial banks and nonbank payment firms.
I watched the video and now I wonder, could they oblige everybody to use the digital yuan and forbid the use of Alipay or we chat ?
Well done. Capital under handcuff should be the ultimate purpose for every country. Maybe with US as an exception, where capital has already taken control of everything.
How dare they not help?
Arrogant and arbitrary.
wow