UnionPay Debuts Self-Service Network for Merchants to Add Digital Yuan Options

UnionPay, China’s financial authorization service for secure transactions, is poised to launch a self-service platform for merchants who want to use the digital yuan (eCNY), CryptoNews.com reported, citing China National Radio.

The feature, which can be completed in five minutes, comes as Chinese businesses are finding more ways to use the eCNY. Retailers are being offered services that allow them to register and receive central bank digital currency (CBDC) payments through third-party operators.

Under the plan, the network will allow payment for eCommerce merchants that accept UnionPay. The deal will also allow customers to make purchases with the eCNY via their own apps.

For now, the platform will only support eCNY wallets, but wallets operated by other financial institutions (FIs) are expected to be added.

UnionPay calls itself one of the first, third-party payment service institutions in China to sign a cooperation agreement with the Digital Currency Research Institute, the CBDC branch of the central People’s Bank of China.

The report revealed the digital yuan option has been advanced as China responds to the worsening pandemic. Several cities including Shanghai, are under lockdowns.

Still, the number of businesses that accept the digital yuan is limited. About 10 million businesses had digital yuan wallets as of last fall.

Read more: China’s Digital Yuan Captures $8.3B in Payments Over 6 Months

Earlier this year, China’s digital yuan captured $8.3 billion of the country’s payments market in the past six months and $13.7 billion in the past two years.

That number represents a fraction of the trillions of dollars in payments processed in the country annually.

The number of China’s digital yuan users increased at a quicker pace than transaction volume, with 261 million users by the end of last year, an increase of 240.13 million from the end of June.