The central bank adds 12 new digital yuan operating institutions to help improve the inclusiveness of services

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On @E3@, the People’s Bank of China newly added 12 bank-type digital RMB business operation institutions—@E4@, @E5@, @E6@, @E7@, @E8@, @E9@, @E10@, @E11@, @E12@, @E13@, @E14@, and @E15@—and connected them to the central bank’s digital RMB system. After the new institutions complete their business and technical preparations, they will carry out digital RMB business.

Previously, the digital RMB business operation institutions included 10 banks: @E16@, @E17@, @E18@, @E19@, @E20@, @E21@, @E22@, @E23@, @E24@, and @E25@. After this expansion, the total number of operating institutions increased to 22.

In this regard, Lin Xianping, associate professor at Zhejiang Urban College and executive deputy secretary-general of the Expert Think Tank Committee on Chinese Cities, said in an interview with reporters that this move is a key step in implementing the “14th Five-Year Plan” and steadily developing the digital RMB. It not only signals that digital RMB promotion has entered a new stage of scale and inclusiveness, but also highlights the far-reaching significance of China’s plans to deploy a legally issued digital currency.

Wang Peng, a deputy researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with reporters from @E26@ that this expansion marks that digital RMB has officially shifted from a “localized pilot” phase to a “comprehensively deepening” phase. The addition of 12 banks, especially high-quality city commercial banks, most directly means leveraging their deep-rooted local branch network advantages to enhance the inclusiveness of services.

Zhang Xinyuan, head of the consulting firm @E27@, said in an interview with reporters that this move further expands the digital RMB operating network, enabling more commercial banks to directly participate in issuance and circulation, which helps enhance coverage and promote adoption. The newly added regional and local banks can also better meet the needs of different regions and different groups—particularly by strengthening the coverage of financial services in smaller cities and rural areas. At the same time, the entry of more institutions will promote market competition, drive innovation in related technologies and services, and improve overall operating efficiency and service quality.

The People’s Bank of China said that the purpose of adding these operating institutions is to implement the decisions and deployments in the “14th Five-Year Plan Outline” regarding “steadily developing the digital RMB,” further enhance the inclusiveness of digital RMB services, and continuously respond to the public’s demand for digital RMB services that are safe, convenient, and efficient.

When asked about the significance of “steadily developing the digital RMB,” Zhang Xinyuan said that it is mainly reflected in four aspects: first, as a legally issued digital currency issued by the central bank, it helps improve the efficiency and safety of the payment system and reduce the issuance and circulation costs of traditional banknotes; second, it can strengthen the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission and improve the precision of financial regulation, helping to prevent financial risks; third, promoting it helps drive the development of the digital economy and fintech innovation, providing consumers with more convenient and secure payment methods; and fourth, international exploration helps enhance the role of the renminbi in international payments and settlement, and promotes the process of renminbi internationalization.

In Zhang Xinyuan’s view: “The development of the digital RMB is both an inevitable trend of technological progress and financial innovation, and an important measure to serve the real economy and enhance the inclusiveness of financial services.”

Wang Peng also said that China is steadily advancing the digital RMB, and through its “payment equals settlement” feature, it can eliminate complex clearing costs and effectively reduce the operational burden on small and micro enterprises. At the same time, its programmability helps channel funds more precisely to the real-economy areas重点 supported by the “14th Five-Year Plan,” preventing idle capital circulation.

On January 1, 2026, the “Action Plan on Further Strengthening the Digital RMB Management Service System and the Construction of Related Financial Infrastructure” was officially implemented. The new-generation digital RMB measurement framework, management system, operating mechanism, and ecosystem were launched simultaneously. This marks that digital RMB has moved from the cash-type 1.0 version to the deposit-currency-type 2.0 version.

Tian Lihui, dean of the Institute of Financial Development at @E28@, said in an interview with reporters: “The launch of the digital RMB 2.0 version signifies that China’s digital currency strategy has entered a new stage.”

Relevant data shows that as of the end of November 2025, digital RMB had cumulatively processed 3.48 billion transactions with a cumulative transaction amount of RMB 16.7 trillion. Through the digital RMB App, 230 million personal wallets have been opened, and 18.84 million unit wallets have been opened.

The People’s Bank of China stated that the next step will be to orderly advance the expansion of operating institutions in accordance with market-oriented and rule-of-law principles, further stimulating the enthusiasm and creativity of market participants, and building an open and inclusive, fair-competition development environment for the digital RMB.

(Editor: Hao Cheng; Review: Zhu Ziyun; Proofread: Yan Jingning)

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