The digital wallet app, which was designed exclusively for the Chinese Digital Yuan, has now become China’s top download application. Its user-friendly interface and the ability to work with other applications are the two main reasons which ensured mass adoption of the app.
It took less than a week after the launch of the digital wallet app for Digital Yuan that the app became the most downloaded app in China. Digital Yuan’s app is called ‘e-CNY’ which was launched on Wednesday. It took less than a day for e-CNY to go past the app known as ‘WeChat’ and became the most downloaded app on Apple iOS. Thereafter on Monday, e-CNY became the second most downloaded app on the app store of Xiaomi.
The app of e-CNY is available for download across China. However, its functioning has been restricted to certain areas in the initial phase. Only in the selected areas, the app can be accessed and all of its features can be utilized for transacting Digital Yuan. For instance, citizens of only 10 major cities of China, which include cities of Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, etc., are currently using e-CNY. These areas are the same where during the pilot testing of digital Yuan, the public was given digital Yuan under Red Envelope schemes.
The launch of e-CNY is deliberate as there are many occasions and events that are taking place very soon in China. For instance, the Chinese Lunar Year is about to begin on 1st February and it is the time when Chinese people send gifts to family and friends. Similarly, the Beijing Olympics are scheduled to commence on 4th February i.e. soon after the beginning of the Chinese Lunar Year. During the Olympic event, locals, as well as visitors, will be free to use digital Yuan without resorting to any banks for opening an account.
E-CNY isn’t the only exclusive app for using Digital Yuan. In fact, other applications such as WeChat and Alipay, which are quite popular Chinese apps, are too capable of transacting digital Yuans. Apart from Peoples Republic Bank of China, there are seven other Chinese banks that are facilitating digital Yuan payments and transactions.
Meanwhile, e-CNY becoming the most downloaded app in China shows that people are losing trust in digital Yuan, which is a good sign.
