China has told McDonald’s to expand a digital renminbi payments system at restaurants across the country before the Beijing Winter Olympics, as the country prepares to launch the world’s first major e-currency.
Three people familiar with the situation said China was pushing some US companies to install systems to allow consumers to pay for their products in digital renminbi by the opening of the Beijing Games in February.
The e-renminbi is legal tender issued by the Chinese central bank that allows people to make digital transactions through a mobile phone app. The People’s Bank of China says the currency — also known as e-CNY — will coexist with cash. Dozens of other countries are considering central bank digital currencies.