- People’s Bank of China will let commercial banks pay interest on e-CNY wallet balances beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
- The move lets banks include the digital yuan in asset‑liability operations, shifting it toward deposit-like money.
- The plan includes infrastructure steps and a Shanghai hub to support onchain settlement and cross‑border use.
- Civil‑liberties critics warn the change could increase state control over payments.
The People’s Bank of China announced a new framework that permits commercial banks to pay interest on digital yuan (e‑CNY) wallet balances starting Jan. 1, 2026. Deputy governor Lu Lei outlined the change and described the shift in a PBOC‑affiliated article, which he wrote on the site.
CBDC (central bank digital currency): a digital form of central‑bank‑issued money. The announcement says the digital yuan will move beyond a cash substitute and become deposit‑like, allowing banks to treat e‑CNY in their asset‑liability operations.
Lu Lei wrote that, “The digital RMB will move from the digital cash era to the digital deposit currency (Digital Deposit Money) era,” and that, “It has the functions of monetary value scale, value storage, and cross-border payment.” The new policy is part of the “Action Plan on Further Strengthening the Digital RMB Management Service System and Related Financial Infrastructure Construction.”
The plan also seeks to expand infrastructure, including the creation of the RMB International Operations Center in Shanghai to support onchain settlement tools and cross‑chain transfers. The PBOC says these steps aim to promote the use of the digital yuan in cross‑border settlement; the republished item appears on the same site.
Some observers raised concerns about central control. Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation said, as he told MIT Technology Review, “The Chinese government wants more control over payments,” and that the central bank already holds a “firm grip” on major payment firms and could gain the “power to deny people access.”
A related video is embedded in the original coverage and can be viewed here.
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