China's Suzhou to issue 20-million digital yuan in pilot program

A pilot program to promote the adoption of digital currency via 20 million yuan ($3.06 million) worth of hongbaos or "red envelopes" was jointly launched by China's eastern city of Suzhou and the People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Saturday, with Chinese e-commerce company JD.com becoming the first online platform to accept China's digital currency.

Coinciding with another Chinese online shopping festival, Double 12, the municipal government and PBOC will issue 100,000 "red envelopes" worth 200 yuan each to consumers selected through a lottery.

Suzhou's scheme is the second such digital lottery, after the PBOC issued 10 million yuan worth of digital currency to 50,000 randomly selected consumers in the southern city of Shenzhen.

From 20:00 on December 11 to 24:00 on December 27, besides being used while shopping in designated offline stores in Suzhou, these "red envelopes" can also be accepted as payment for some products on JD.com online mall, according to a post on the official WeChat account of JD Digits, the company's fintech arm.

(Cover via CFP)

Suzhou rollout to unveil China's digital currency roadmap