ICBC Xiamen Branch Leverages Digital RMB to Drive SMEs' Digital Transformation

ICBC Xiamen Branch Leverages Digital RMB to Drive SMEs' Digital TransformationRecently, under the guidance of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology and the People's Bank of China Xiamen Branch, ICBC Xiamen Branch pioneered a province-wide initiative. It utilized a "Digital RMB + Smart Contract" approach to disburse over 3 million yuan in subsidies to 33 pilot enterprises that have completed digital transformation upgrades

ICBC Xiamen Branch Leverages Digital RMB to Drive SMEs' Digital Transformation

Recently, under the guidance of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology and the People's Bank of China Xiamen Branch, ICBC Xiamen Branch pioneered a province-wide initiative. It utilized a "Digital RMB + Smart Contract" approach to disburse over 3 million yuan in subsidies to 33 pilot enterprises that have completed digital transformation upgrades. This marks significant progress in ICBC Xiamen Branch's digital finance innovation and its empowerment of high-quality development in the real economy, providing strong support for the digital transformation of SMEs in Xiamen. This innovative practice not only streamlines the fund disbursement process and improves efficiency but also provides a new model for building a trustworthy and efficient transaction ecosystem.

To thoroughly implement the strategic deployment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on promoting the development of SMEs and advancing new industrialization, and in response to the major trend of deep integration of digital technology and the real economy, the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology and the Municipal Finance Bureau jointly issued the "Xiamen SME Digital Transformation Pilot Program" at the beginning of the year. This program aims to support eligible enterprises in undertaking digital transformation and provide financial subsidies to enterprises that pass the acceptance inspection. Under the requirement of "innovative funding subsidy model," the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology and ICBC Xiamen Branch worked closely together to actively explore innovative ways of providing funding subsidies.

ICBC Xiamen Branch responded actively to the government's call, taking swift action to efficiently complete this challenging task. Multiple departments, including the ICBC headquarters' digital currency team and software development center, collaborated closely for nearly a year, overcoming challenges in project demonstration, technology development, and simulation testing. They successfully developed the "Digital RMB + Smart Contract" disbursement system. This system boasts numerous advantages, significantly improving the efficiency and security of fund disbursement.

First, the system effectively simplifies the enterprise account opening process, resolving the cumbersome procedures of traditional offline account opening. Pilot enterprises can open corporate wallets online in batches, receiving subsidies efficiently, saving significant time and effort. Second, the system shortens the time it takes for enterprises to receive subsidies, avoiding year-end disbursement delays and improving disbursement efficiency. More importantly, the system enables full-process data traceability of subsidy funds, effectively monitoring fund usage, promptly identifying and recovering fraudulent transformations and other violations, mitigating the risk of misuse of subsidy funds, and ensuring transparent supervision of funds.

In addition to the efficient disbursement system, ICBC Xiamen Branch also provides a series of exclusive financial services to eligible enterprises to further support their development. These services include enterprise credit lines up to 10 million yuan, preferential loan interest rates as low as 3.1%, professional services from dedicated account managers, and dedicated business processing channels. These measures provide comprehensive financial support to SMEs, helping them better cope with market competition and achieve sustainable development.

This innovative application of the "Digital RMB + Smart Contract" disbursement method fully demonstrates the advantages of Digital RMB. Digital RMB is a digital form of legal tender issued by the People's Bank of China, equivalent to banknotes and coins, possessing value characteristics and legal tender status, and supporting controllable anonymity. Xiamen actively promotes the application of Digital RMB in government agencies and digital transformation pilot enterprises. This fund disbursement is a crucial part of Xiamen's efforts to promote Digital RMB pilot programs.

A relevant person in charge of ICBC Xiamen Branch stated that this innovative application of "Digital RMB + Smart Contract" technology fully utilizes the unique advantages of Digital RMB's ability to load smart contracts. Through programmable technology, it ensures the mandatory execution and automated efficient fulfillment of contracts, providing intelligent services for fund supervision and controlled payment needs. This not only improves efficiency and reduces costs but also provides strong support for Xiamen's construction of a trustworthy and efficient transaction ecosystem.

To better promote the application of Digital RMB, ICBC Xiamen Branch staff conducted face-to-face outreach activities with pilot enterprises, detailing the usage of the Digital RMB payment, settlement, and disbursement systems, helping enterprise personnel understand the advantages of Digital RMB. Digital RMB not only retains the payment and settlement functions of traditional currency but also integrates the low cost, high efficiency, portability, and security of electronic payment, and offers convenient services such as fee-free transactions, real-time settlement, smart contracts, and offline payments. Through these efforts, ICBC Xiamen Branch effectively improved enterprises' awareness and acceptance of Digital RMB, fostering public usage habits.

ICBC Xiamen Branch's innovative exploration in Digital RMB application provides valuable experience for digital transformation work in other regions across the country. Through technological empowerment and continuous upgrading of financial services, it effectively promotes the digital upgrading of SMEs, ultimately fostering high-quality development of the real economy in Xiamen. This is not only a reflection of ICBC Xiamen Branch's active fulfillment of its social responsibilities but also an important practice of financial institutions actively participating in national strategies and promoting the development of the digital economy. In the future, ICBC Xiamen Branch is expected to continue leveraging its advantages as a financial institution, continuously innovating service models, and providing more high-quality and efficient financial services to more enterprises, supporting China's digital economic transformation. This successful pilot project also provides strong case support for further promoting the application of Digital RMB in more scenarios, contributing to the construction of a more complete digital economy ecosystem. ICBC Xiamen Branch is practicing its commitment to serving the real economy, injecting new vitality into the development of SMEs, and adding new impetus to the vigorous development of China's digital economy. Through continuous exploration and innovation, ICBC Xiamen Branch will continue to promote the deep integration of financial technology and the real economy, contributing more to national economic development.