Singapore and China have teamed up on a pilot to allow tourists in both countries to spend China’s central bank digital currency, the digital yuan. “This will enhance convenience for travelers when making purchases during their overseas travel,” Singapore’s central bank described.
Tourists in China and Singpoare Can Spend Digital Yuan
Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), announced Thursday “new digital finance and capital markets initiatives to expand its financial cooperation with China.”
One of the initiatives is a “cross-border e-CNY pilot between China and Singapore,” the MAS explained, adding that it and People’s Bank of China’s Digital Currency Institute (PBCDCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on digital finance cooperation in 2020. The announcement details:
MAS and PBCDCI are embarking on a pilot that will allow travellers from both countries to use e-CNY for tourism spending in Singapore and China. This will enhance convenience for travellers when making purchases during their overseas travel.
China is at the forefront of central bank digital currency (CBDC) development, actively testing its e-CNY project. Since initiating digital yuan research, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has steadily expanded the pilot program’s reach. Presently, there are 26 pilot areas for digital yuan spread across China.
PBOC Governor Yi Gang disclosed in July that transactions utilizing China’s central bank digital currency reached 1.8 trillion yuan ($250 billion) at the end of June. In November, Standard Chartered Bank said that it had begun offering digital yuan exchange services in China. Moreover, the Chinese central bank and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have entered the second phase of integrating digital yuan for payments and cross-border transactions within Hong Kong.
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