As CBDC adoption grows, all civil servants in the Chinese city of Changshu will be paid their complete salaries in digital RMB or digital yuan from May 2023, according to an announcement issued by the city’s governing authorities.
According to the notice issued by local Chinese authorities, the Changshu Local Financial Supervision Bureau and the Changshu Municipal Bureau of Finance, civil servants, including public service personnel, public institution personnel, and state-owned unit personnel, will be compensated in digital RMB.
A local hospital’s on-site staff member reportedly verified that employees would be paid in digital yuan beginning next month. In addition, reporters were informed that employees could elect for digital yuan settlements via self-service terminals.
Multiple Chinese city governments distributed over 180 million yuan ($26.5 million) of central bank digital currency (CBDC) during the Lunar New Year holiday on February 6 to increase adoption.
Jiangsu Province, where Changshu is located, instituted a pilot program for digital RMB in the first quarter of 2023. According to a local report, the objective is to implement an efficient and user-friendly digital RMB operation and management system by 2025.
Hong Kong residents still need to receive the drive for CBDC adoption by the Chinese government. In the first four days following the introduction of the digital yuan hard wallet, only 625 Hong Kong residents had signed up.
Despite a 20% discount on purchases from 1,400 local vendors — subsidized by the government for CBDC proprietors — the lack of adoption was evident.
