Technology
China Check Digital Yuan on Tencent-Backed Food Distribution Platform
China aims to test the automated yuan using Meituan-Dianping's online food retailer, as well as two other Tencent-backed firms.
- The Beijing-based firm held talks with the People's Bank of China (PBoC) study arm on wireless yuan development on their website, according to sources talking to Bloomberg.
- The precise details of the collaboration are not yet known; the digital yuan is formally known as the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP).
- In Hong Kong, Meituan-Dianping's 400 million active customers make it one of the biggest food distribution sites in the world; sales rose by almost 50 percent to RMB97.5 billion (~14 billion dollars) in 2019.
- It is backed by the internet giant Tencent, which had a 20% shareholding shortly before the initial public offering in 2018 and is a major investor.
- Tencent, who also owns the famous WeChat Messaging and Payment app, is expected to be one of the key commercial issuers of digital yuan when it goes online.
- It has set aside billions of dollars to invest in emerging technology, including blockchain.
- Two other Tencent-backed firms are already said to be in early negotiations with PBoC.
- This includes the video streaming platform Bilibili, according to Bloomberg sources, which received a $300 million commitment from Tencent at the end of 2018.
- Last week, the ride-hailing startup Didi Chuxing said it would try the digital yuan as a new payment option; Tencent invested $15 million in 2013.
