Chinese Government Workers to Receive 50% Transport Subsidy in May Via New Digital Currency

With China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) also known as DC/EP, now in its pilot stage, new reports have revealed that the national cryptocurrency will be issued to government workers in the Xiangcheng district of Suzhou city in May, as part of their transportation subsidies.

According to a Thursday report by the local news outlet, China Star Market, employees of various local enterprises and civil servants whose salaries are paid by the four big state-owned banks, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Bank of China, and the China Construction Bank, will receive about 50% of their transportation subsidies in the form of DC/EP.

The report, which cited an official document, required that all institutions and management committees in the Xiangcheng district sign a digital currency issuance contract with these four banks before May.

It also required that all employees eligible for the transportation subsidy should install the DC/EP digital wallets this April, in order to receive their subsidies.

“Salary signing agreement and digital wallet installation work must be completed before the end of April, and digital currency issuance work should be completed in May. If the salary issuance is outside the four state-owned banks of China Construction Workers and Peasants, you must choose As one of the four major state-owned banks of workers, peasants and farmers, China Construction Bank, as a cooperative bank for transportation payment, completed the opening of bank cards, the signing of the issuance agreement, and the installation of digital wallets by the end of May,” the report reads. 

According to people familiar with the matter, the CBDC will be used in other future test cases such as poverty alleviation, government subsidies, employment checks, and educational allowances. 

The digital currency will also be first adopted by the Agricultural Bank of China, which handles funds from agricultural and rural areas but is lagging behind in terms of digital payment options. 

As per the report, Alipay, a popular payment app developed by Alibaba, had confirmed that they participated in the issuance efforts for the DC/EP. 

Meanwhile, Coinfomania reported yesterday that the trial of China’s new digital Yuan would be conducted in four selected regions in the country.