China is paying some workers in digital yuan – but few are choosing to use it
- Some Chinese cities have begun to pay state employees with the country’s digital currency, but most of these early adopters convert to cash immediately
- Challenges remain in the e-CNY’s popularisation, as universally adopted mobile payment apps present convenient, functional alternative
At the end of each month, Sammy Lin – an account manager at a state-owned bank in eastern China’s Suzhou – receives her monthly salary in a form that would be unfamiliar to most.
When payday arrives, she receives a sum not as a direct deposit, but as a balance of digital currency in her “e-CNY” app. From there, the money automatically transfers to her bank account, where she can turn it into regular cash and save or spend it as she chooses.
A year ago, Changshu, a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, took the lead by paying all public sector workers in digital yuan, and Lin’s employer followed suit months later.
I prefer not to keep the money in the e-CNY app, because there’s no interest if I leave it there
But Lin, like most others in this pioneer cohort, is not actually using the virtual money directly. Their reasons range from functional limitations to worries over privacy.
