The metro operator of the Chinese city of Ningbo in the northeastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, as part of the popularization of the state digital currency, offered passengers a bonus for paying for a trip in e-CNY.
Ningbo Rail Transit said all 125 stations operated by the operator will accept the digital yuan as payment for transportation services. The company announced that 9.5 million citizens and visitors can now pay for metro services through the Ningbo Rail Transit app.
Citizens will be asked to link e-CNY wallets to the app from any of the six largest banks participating in the digital yuan pilot project: Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications and Postal Savings Bank.
By scanning the QR codes with their mobile phones at the turnstiles, passengers will be able to pay for the trip from their digital yuan wallet. The metro operator stressed that the digital yuan payment option is being implemented as a pilot project. At the same time, Ningbo Rail Transit is striving in every possible way to interest passengers in paying for metro services with state digital coins.
As a temporary bonus for passengers paying with digital yuan, the company is offering participation in a promotion under which a random number of passengers will pay “just one penny” (the smallest coin) for a subway ride until September 4th. The operator did not say whether it would allow subway fares to be paid in digital yuan upon completion of the pilot project.
Ningbo Rail Transit did not specify what options will be provided for users who do not use smartphones with standalone NFC-based e-CNY smart cards. That being said, the company said it would “continue to update” its digital yuan payment channels in the future.
Already, nine urban subway systems in China’s rapidly expanding Digital Yuan Pilot Zone now allow passengers to pay using CBDC.
In 2021, the digital yuan was added as a way to pay for fares and top up the balance of travel tickets at Beijing and Suzhou metro terminals.
