China's Minsheng Bank and e-commerce giant JD.com have partnered to launch a digital yuan payment service. The service allows Minsheng customers in the CBDC pilot zone to link their bank-issued digital wallets to their JD accounts and make payments with digital yuan tokens.
JD is the Chinese equivalent of Amazon and has been one of the People's Bank of China's (PBoC) closest business partners since the CBDC pilot program began. To incentivize adoption of the digital yuan, Minsheng is offering customers who link their wallets to their JD accounts a one-time discount coupon worth more than $4. Customers who share details of the promotion on social media platforms can also receive an additional e-CNY coupon worth 88 yuan (about $12.30). The number 8 is considered lucky in China.
The launch of the digital yuan payment service by Minsheng and JD.com is a significant step forward in the development of the CBDC in China. It is the first time that a major bank and e-commerce platform have partnered to offer a digital yuan payment service. The partnership is likely to help to increase the adoption of the digital yuan among consumers and businesses.