In its latest move to encourage the general public to mass-adopt the nation-backed digital currency, the central People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has recently updated its digital yuan app to include several new gifting and invitation options. The attempt is aimed to drive the adoption of the digital yuan which is little used in the Asian nation.

The mobile application’s first major update focused on the user interface, but the latest update was all about increasing the usage of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) by the route of social media. One new function added is a gift-giving mechanism which allows users to send cash gifts to others; a popular way in Chinese culture to show love, appreciation and bondedness.

The Chinese-themed digital red envelopes can be sent via Alibaba, WeChat and the QQ app of Tencent, and users will be able to redeem the cash gifts by downloading and accessing the nation’s official digital yuan app.

Sources:

https://cryptonews.com/news/chinese-central-bank-updates-digital-yuan-app-adds-gift-functions.htm

https://www.reuters.com/technology/former-pboc-official-says-chinas-digital-yuan-is-little-used-caixin-2022-12-29/