JD.com, a major Chinese online retailer that competes with Alibaba, revealed in a statement that it has started paying some staff in digital yuan (since January), the virtual version of the country’s physical currency.
The company's decision to start paying some staff in digital yuan shows that big tech companies are buying the idea of a digital Yuan. JD.com has become one of the first organizations in China to pay wages in electronic yuan.
Speaking of Tech companies, video streaming platform Bilibili, on-demand services provider Meituan and ride-hailing app Didi have also begun accepting digital yuan for user purchases.
Gaming and social networking giant Tencent became one of the "digital yuan operators" and will take part in the design, R&D and operational work of the electronic money.
Ant Group has also partnered with the central bank to build out the infrastructure to move money digitally. Huawei introduced a wallet on one of its smartphone models that allow users to spend digital yuan instantaneously even if the device is offline.
China has been busy with its digital currency over the past few months. In October, Shenzhen, a southern city known for its progressive economic policies, rolled out 10 million yuan worth of digital currency to 500,000 residents, who could then utilize the money to shop at certain online and offline retailers.
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