RIDE-HAILING giant Didi Chuxing is testing China’s digital cash as a payment method on its platform, in what could be one of the first real-world applications of the electronic version of the yuan.

The SoftBank Group Corp.-backed startup said yesterday it’s working with a research wing of the People’s Bank of China on uses for the virtual legal tender dubbed Digital Currency Electronic Payment, (DCEP). That includes testing the token on its ride-hailing platform, sources familiar with the matter said. Specifics like when the feature will officially roll out aren’t clear yet, they said.

The government began a pilot program for digital currency, which lives on a mobile wallet application and offers regulators more effective control of the country’s financial system, a few months ago.

The initial testing was limited to four cities, with local media reporting that some of the money was distributed via transport subsidies to residents in Suzhou. However, implementation remains a question. China’s US$27 trillion payments industry is already dominated by twin Internet giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Adoption by Didi, which connects half a billion Chinese commuters, would drive acceptance of China’s digital coin. Didi currently employs payment tools from Tencent and Alibaba-backed Ant Group, so it would appear to be a good candidate for DCEP. Beyond its core ride-sharing business, Didi is luring grocers and merchants onto its platform — and they could also become users of the national digital tokens.

China’s central bank has led global peers in development of digital legal tender, with research efforts started in at least 2014. The digital currency is intended to eventually replace coins and banknotes.

“DCEP will become a key infrastructure of digital economy,” Didi said in a statement. It will work with the government to “boost the integration of the digital economy with the real economy.”(SD-Agencies)