China and Japan are moving ahead with their respective digital bank pilots issued by the central bank, or CBDCs.
On March 26, the Bank of Japan announced that it had established the Central Bank’s Digital Currency Liaison and Coordination Committee to meet with the private sector on the next CBDC, or PoC, proof of concept, stating:
“The Bank, through this committee, will share details and provide updates on the PoC with the private sector and the government and will seek consultations on future steps to facilitate the implementation of the PoC.”
The announcement also noted that the bank has been preparing to conduct a pilot CBDC since October 2020 and will formally start Phase 1 of its CBDC pilot next month.
On March 23, Chinese state-owned media Sina reported that six major public banks have started testing wallet services for the digital renminbi. Customers can subscribe to banks’ whitelists to participate in the test and, if approved, will receive sub-portfolios connected to the central bank’s digital RMB application.
The central bank will review requests on a case-by-case basis.
Successful applicants receive text messages containing instructions on how to download and set up digital wallets by scanning a QR code. Sub-portfolios are initially set with a payment limit of 1,000 yuan per day, but users may request an increase in the limit in the future. Portfolios can optionally be linked to existing bank cards issued by participating institutions.
The six participating banks are the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, Construction Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
China has also been testing its CBDC in the metropolitan centers of Beijing, Shenzhen, Suzhou and Chengdu since October.