China’s central bank reveals physical CBDC card with dynamic QR codes

The People’s Bank of China has developed a hard wallet with a digital yuan image that displays dynamic QR codes and offline payments.

China is moving towards adopting its central bank digital currency, also known as digital yuan or e-CNY, this time offering a payment card similar to traditional debit or credit cards. According to a Nov. 7 report by the Global Times, the new technology is a physical visual card that allows holders to make payments both online and offline.

The digital yuan card, which was first introduced at the 18th Shenzhen International Finance Fair, supports both “pay by tapping” and “pay by scanning” options. Thanks to both features, merchants can accept card payments via browsers or mobile devices as well as POS terminals.

Physical visual card for CBDC | Source: ithome

According to the report, the 1mm thick device also has a screen that displays both balance and payment details, as well as dynamic QR codes for payments. The digital yuan hard wallet was first launched in pilot applications in 2021 and has since integrated with the HarmonyOS system, allowing access without a dedicated app.

According to local Chinese news sources, the wallet is already available for public transportation payments in cities such as Qingdao in East China’s Shandong Province.

Despite the launch of the latest product, the digital yuan has struggled to gain significant traction since its debut in 2020; Some officials choose not to hold their money in government-controlled digital currency due to concerns about lack of interest and limited availability.

Different physical CBDC cards from Chinese banks | Source: ithome

Meanwhile, Beijing is reportedly forcing local payment giants to reduce their market share to create space for the digital yuan. As Crypto.news previously reported, Tencent Holdings is under pressure from Chinese regulators as the country’s mobile payment ecosystem is dominated by WeChat Pay and Ant Group-owned Alipay, despite the presence of approximately 185 non-bank payment institutions.