Another 40M Yuan in Digital Yuan Red Packets to be Distributed in Beijing and Suzhou

With the Lunar New Year right around the corner, China has amped up its efforts to test out its upcoming digital yuan. And while extensive pilot projects have already taken place in some of the country’s biggest financial hubs, local governments seem eager to incentivize even more real-world use of its national digital currency.

According to the latest report from the South China Morning Post published on Feb. 8, two more large-scale digital yuan tests are set to take place in the country right before the Lunar New Year. Beijing and Suzhou will hold trials of the national digital currency this week, government notices from both cities have shown.

The China Daily acquired the government notice stating that 10 million yuan will be distributed in Beijing in digital rec packets throughout this week. Each red packet, the notice said, will be worth 200 yuan, or around $31, and distributed via a lucky draw on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Winners of the packets will be able to spend their digital yuan both online and offline until Feb. 17, in stores covering clothes, shoes, cinemas, hotels, and various other areas. 

At the same time, another red packet distribution project will take place in Suzhou. However, the Suzhou trial will be much larger in volume, with the city distributing 30 million yuan in red packets. As in Beijing, the red packets distributed in Suzhou will all be worth 200 yuan. Citizens can apply for a lottery distribution program that’s virtually the same to the one in Beijing, where they will be able to receive the packet via a lucky draw. 

The Suzhou trial, however, will last until Feb. 27 and cover much more retailers. The South China Morning Post reported that over 10,000 businesses are expected to support payments using the digital yuan during the trial, covering items ranging from groceries to clothes. 

Back in December last year, Suzhou held its first trial of the upcoming digital yuan, distributing 20 million yuan in red packets to its citizens. The trial turned out to be a huge success, with the system processing hundreds of millions of yuan in transaction volume over the course of the trial. If this week’s trial follows the success of the city’s previous pilots, there could be up to a billion yuan in transaction volume processed within 10 days. 

Beijing’s own DCEP trial is a direct result of the city’s latest commitment to test the digital yuan. At the end of last month, the city, alongside Shanghai and Guangdong, published a report pledging that it would offer new pilot projects for the digital yuan and introduce infrastructure that would support the creation of a digital currency innovation zone in Shenzhen.