Digital RMB Visible Hard Wallet Makes Shenzhen Debut: Fueling Global Expansion and a More Inclusive Payment Ecosystem

Digital RMB Visible Hard Wallet Makes Shenzhen Debut: Fueling Global Expansion and a More Inclusive Payment EcosystemOn November 7th, under the witness of Mu Changchun, director of the People's Bank of China's Digital Currency Research Institute, the digital RMB visible hard wallet made its nationwide debut at the 18th Shenzhen International Financial Expo and the 2024 Shenzhen International Fintech Festival. This marks a crucial step towards the global promotion of digital RMB

Digital RMB Visible Hard Wallet Makes Shenzhen Debut: Fueling Global Expansion and a More Inclusive Payment Ecosystem

On November 7th, under the witness of Mu Changchun, director of the People's Bank of China's Digital Currency Research Institute, the digital RMB visible hard wallet made its nationwide debut at the 18th Shenzhen International Financial Expo and the 2024 Shenzhen International Fintech Festival. This marks a crucial step towards the global promotion of digital RMB. This innovative hard wallet, boasting "tap, view, scan" functionalities, has become a highly anticipated game-changer in the mobile payment sector, promising to significantly enhance the usage and adoption rate of digital RMB both domestically and internationally.

"Tap, View, Scan": Innovative Features and User Experience

The success of the digital RMB visible hard wallet lies in its groundbreaking design, revolutionizing payment methods. It cleverly integrates e-ink technology with the digital RMB payment system, simplifying the payment process that previously required smartphone operation and enhancing user experience, particularly beneficial for the elderly, students, and foreign nationals.

The "tap" function stems from Shenzhen's pioneering implementation of the "tap-to-pay" function for digital RMB APP hard wallets in April this year. Users simply tap the hard wallet against a POS machine or trusted mobile terminal to complete the payment, eliminating the need for cumbersome scanning. This convenience significantly lowers the barrier to entry for digital RMB payments, making it accessible to a wider audience.

The "view" function adds an e-ink display to the existing card-style hard wallet, allowing users to clearly see transaction information and wallet balance. This is particularly important for the elderly, effectively preventing errors caused by unfamiliarity with operation. The intuitive display enhances users' control over their account balance, strengthening payment security and reliability.

The "scan" function is achieved through an integrated dynamic QR code. Merchants don't need additional payment equipment; a single smartphone is sufficient to scan the dynamic payment code on the hard wallet to complete the transaction. This simple and convenient method greatly expands the application scenarios of the digital RMB hard wallet, enabling seamless use in various settings, including shops, taxis, and street food stalls.

Customizable Card Designs and Diversified Services: Meeting Diverse User Needs

To cater to different aesthetic preferences and regional characteristics, seven different themed visible hard wallets were launched, issued by Industrial Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Construction Bank, Postal Savings Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and China Merchants Bank. These card designs incorporate Shenzhen's unique characteristics and fashionable elements, reflecting the design team's dedication and attention to user needs. More customized cards will be introduced in the future to further enrich user choices.

Shenzhen's operating institutions are continuously improving the hard wallet service system while actively responding to the State Council's General Office's directives on optimizing payment services and enhancing payment convenience. They strive to improve payment service levels, optimize the business environment, and promote high-level opening-up. They actively explore diverse payment service needs for the elderly and foreign nationals, promoting the parallel development of mobile payment, bank cards, and cash. They are also pioneering innovative applications such as proxy witnessed account opening pilots, "foreign card, domestic binding," "foreign package, domestic use" for mobile payments, cash mini-wallets, and digital currency hard wallets, creating a smooth "card path, code path, currency path," aiming to establish Shenzhen as a model for comprehensive payment services.

Convenient Collection, Diverse Top-up Options, Rich Scenarios, and Flexible Card Returns: Enhancing User Payment Experience

To enhance user experience, Shenzhen's operating institutions continually optimize the service system across all stages: issuing, topping up, usage, and recycling of hard wallets. For convenient access by foreign visitors, 34 self-service hard wallet issuing machines have been installed in key areas such as airports and border crossings. Top-up options are diverse, supporting not only Octopus card top-ups (Hong Kong) but also RMB and foreign currency cash, and Visa and Mastercard. Shenzhen's operating institutions and major acquiring institutions have upgraded 36,000 acceptance terminals to support digital RMB hard wallets. Upgrades in key areas like public transport are also steadily progressing, further enriching usage scenarios. Considering the controllable anonymity of digital RMB hard wallets, users can conveniently return and refund cards at self-service machines or bank branches.

More Convenient Merchant Collection: Implementation of Digital RMB APP Collection Function

To facilitate merchant collection, the People's Bank of China Shenzhen branch and the People's Bank of China's Digital Currency Research Institute jointly issued a notice to guide operating institutions within the jurisdiction to provide digital RMB APP collection services for centrally managed merchants such as taxi companies and farmers' markets. Merchants only need a smartphone to receive payments from visible hard wallets via "tap-to-pay" or "scan," effectively reducing the burden and cost of payment acceptance. The success of China Postal Savings Bank Shenzhen branch in collaboration with two taxi companies and the Luohu Dongmen shopping district demonstrates the practicality and popularity of this function.

Shenzhen's Exemplary Role and Future Development

As a leading window of reform and opening up and an important entry point for foreign nationals, Shenzhen plays a crucial exemplary role in the promotion and application of digital RMB. In the future, Shenzhen's operating institutions will continue to optimize the digital RMB hard wallet service system, gradually improve the acceptance environment, and focus on opening up payment channels in key areas such as transportation and catering, enabling the digital RMB hard wallet to be truly universally usable and meeting the diverse payment needs of the elderly, students, and foreign nationals. This will create a more inclusive and diverse payment service system, contributing to building a new pattern of higher-level opening up. The successful launch of the digital RMB visible hard wallet not only signifies significant progress in its domestic promotion but also lays a solid foundation for its entry into the global market. Its convenience, security, and inclusivity will inject new vitality into the global payment ecosystem. Shenzhen's experience and model deserve to be learned from and adopted by other regions to jointly promote the global popularity and application of digital RMB. This will further promote the digital transformation and development of the global economy and contribute to building a more equitable and convenient global payment system. With continuous technological advancements and expanding application scenarios, the digital RMB visible hard wallet will undoubtedly play an even greater role in bringing convenience to people's lives. It will also continue to drive the globalization of digital RMB, promoting international trade and economic cooperation and contributing to building a community with a shared future for mankind. In future development, continuous optimization of user experience, expansion of application scenarios, and improvement of security mechanisms will be key to the continued growth of the digital RMB visible hard wallet. We believe that with the joint efforts of all parties, the digital RMB visible hard wallet will gain wider application worldwide, becoming an important engine driving the digital transformation of the global economy. This is not only a technological breakthrough but also a revolution in payment methods, heralding a future of more convenient, secure, and efficient payments. We look forward to witnessing the profound changes the digital RMB visible hard wallet will bring to the global payment ecosystem.