DBS launches e-CNY merchant collection solution in Mainland China
Singaporean banking giant DBS has launched an e-CNY merchant collection solution, enabling businesses in Mainland China to receive payments in central bank digital currency (CBDC).
DBS launches e-CNY merchant collection solution
With the new solution, corporate clients of DBS China will be able to collect payments from their customers in e-CNY, China’s CBDC, with automated settlement of the digital currency directly into their CNY bank deposit account.
It brings several benefits for customers, DBS says, including a “seamless and efficient” method for businesses to collect a new form of digital money without going through manual settlement processes; ability to receive payments digitally in underserved regions with limited digital connectivity; and reconciliation via consolidated merchant reports with itemised e-CNY transactions, accessible on DBS Ideal, the bank’s digital platform for business banking.
The announcement marks DBS as one of the first foreign banks to implement the solution in China.
Ginger Cheng, CEO of DBS Bank (China), says the bank has received “strong interest” from clients for its solution since launch and has also completed the first e-CNY transaction for a client, a Shenzhen-based catering company.
“By seamlessly integrating a CBDC collection and settlement method into our clients’ existing payment systems, this will help position their business for a digital future where consumers in China use e-CNY for their daily activities,” Cheng adds.
Since its pilot launch in April 2020, the usage of e-CNY has steadily grown in China, with over 13.6 billion e-CNY in circulation as of December 2022.
