CBDC
What is the e-CNY? China's Digital Yuan Explained
The e-CNY is China's central bank digital currency — the world's first interest-bearing retail CBDC, classified as M1 since January 2026.
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The e-CNY (Digital Currency Electronic Payment, DC/EP) is the central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the People's Bank of China (PBoC). Piloted from 2020 in cities such as Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Chengdu, it went nationwide in 2023 and is fully live in retail and government payments by 2026.
In January 2026 the PBoC reclassified e-CNY as part of the M1 monetary aggregate, allowing it to bear interest and making it the world's first interest-bearing retail CBDC. This is a major inflection point in the global CBDC debate, as central banks had historically avoided paying interest to prevent bank disintermediation.
The e-CNY uses a two-tier distribution model: the PBoC issues it to licensed commercial banks (ICBC, China Construction Bank, and others), which then distribute it to end users via official wallets. It supports offline NFC and device-to-device dual-offline payments.
China is also one of the most active participants in mBridge, the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong multi-CBDC project for wholesale cross-border settlement alongside Thailand, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
Key facts
- •Pilot launched 2020, nationwide rollout 2023
- •Reclassified as M1 by the PBoC in January 2026
- •World's first interest-bearing retail CBDC
- •Two-tier distribution via commercial banks
- •Supports offline and dual-offline NFC payments
- •Integrated into mBridge for wholesale cross-border settlement
- •Available via e-CNY app, WeChat Pay and Alipay