China, Singapore to let each other’s tourists pay with digital yuan as Beijing seeks to globalise its e-CNY currency

China and Singapore have initiated a pilot programme that will enable tourists from both nations to utilise the e-CNY, a digital version of the Chinese currency, during their travels. This project, a collaboration between the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China, aims to enhance the convenience of overseas purchases for travellers.

This pilot programme was announced during the annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, a meeting between the Chinese and Singaporean governments. During this event, the two nations also agreed to a 30-day visa-free travel arrangement, one of 24 deals signed to strengthen bilateral ties. Richard Turrin, an independent financial technology consultant, believes this collaboration presents a significant opportunity for the cross-border retail use of e-CNY.

China began testing its digital currency in 2019, and while no official launch date has been confirmed, the adoption of the digital yuan has been accelerating. In June, e-CNY transactions amounted to 950 million yuan, a significant increase from the 100 billion yuan recorded in August 2022. As of last year, 5. 6 million merchants across 26 pilot cities had registered to use the digital yuan. China has also been experimenting with the use of e-CNY outside mainland China, completing a multi-country trial named mBridge that used central bank digital currencies to settle trades with Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.