China lets banks pay interest on digital yuan wallets from January 2026

first published 2025-12-29T07:02:41Z

The People’s Bank of China will implement a new e‑CNY framework on Jan. 1 allowing commercial banks to pay interest on customers’ digital yuan balances, shifting e‑CNY from digital cash toward digital deposit money. Deputy Governor Lu Lei said accounts will be account‑based, compatible with distributed ledger technology, carry attributes of commercial bank liabilities, support store‑of‑value and cross‑border use, and that an international digital yuan operations centre is proposed for Shanghai. The e‑CNY was researched from 2014 and launched in 2022, with pilots and airdrops used to encourage adoption.

AI Analysis

PBOC will let commercial banks pay interest on e‑CNY and make it account‑based with commercial bank liability attributes and cross‑border support, which increases its store‑of‑value function and institutional characteristics—facts stated by Deputy Governor Lu Lei and the summary.

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