A CITIZEN surnamed Wang in Pingshan District was among the first consumers to experiment with the country’s digital yuan, or e-CNY, for prepaid car purchases at local car dealers, Shenzhen Evening News reported yesterday.

Prepaid consumption is popular in many businesses, but refunds and compensation are often difficult to get using traditional payment methods if services are terminated due to various reasons.

Digital currency can empower consumers to safeguard their rights and interests and minimize the risks associated with prepayments because they will be supervised through smart contracts and are unalterable.

In early February, the market regulator in Pingshan, in cooperation with the Pingshan Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China, worked to promote e-CNY prepayment in car purchases.

According to the Pingshan market regulator, the e-CNY platform of the Pingshan Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China will automatically load contract information and supervise the funds, which will be released only after the car is delivered to the consumer.

The Pingshan market regulator said it has also launched an e-CNY prepayment program in a local commercial district to regulate prepaid consumption.

At present, 50% of the businesses that adopt the prepaid consumption model in the commercial district have signed with banks to pilot e-CNY prepayments. The businesses cover industries such as catering, education, and training.

Shenzhen is among the first batch of cities in China to pilot digital yuan services. According to the People’s Bank of China Shenzhen Branch, over 37 million digital yuan wallets had been set up in Shenzhen by the end of 2023, an increase of 36.2% compared to the beginning of the year.

The cumulative circulating amount was about 84 billion yuan (US$11.68 billion), up 123% compared to the beginning of 2023, statistics showed.

(Zhang Yu)