PBOC Adds Eight Banks to Digital Yuan Network as Operators Reach 30

In August 2026, the People's Bank of China added Ping An Bank, Hengfeng Bank, China Bohai Bank, Bank of Shanghai, Bank of Hangzhou, Huishang Bank, Bank of Changsha and Guangxi Beibu Gulf Bank as digital yuan business operators, connecting them to the central bank's digital yuan system. The new institutions will conduct digital yuan business after completing business and technical preparations. The number of digital yuan business operators has risen to 30, including six large state-owned banks, 12 joint-stock banks, 10 city commercial banks and two internet banks.

In September 2026, Huishang Bank issued a procurement announcement for its digital yuan project group. The project is divided into five lots covering the digital yuan trading center, core system, smart contract system, front-end system and testing, with maximum bid prices of RMB 10.5 million, RMB 9 million, RMB 4.5 million, RMB 2 million and RMB 9.6 million respectively, for a combined ceiling of RMB 35.6 million. On 17 August 2026, Bank of Shanghai issued a tender announcement for the construction and testing of its digital core engineering business systems, covering implementation of the digital yuan business system and system testing. On 28 August 2026, Bank of Changsha disclosed the result of a tender for the core system construction project for digital yuan operators. On 31 August 2026, Guangxi Beibu Gulf Bank published procurement results for three digital yuan projects, covering a 2.0-layer payment front-end system, a 2.0-layer core system and a 2.0-layer scenario application ecosystem.

Previously, the People's Bank of China issued an action plan on further strengthening the digital yuan management and service system and related financial infrastructure. On 1 January 2026, it officially launched a new-generation digital yuan measurement framework, management system, operating mechanism and ecosystem. As of the end of November 2025, the digital yuan had processed a cumulative 3.48 billion transactions worth RMB 16.7 trillion. A total of 230 million personal wallets and 18.84 million corporate wallets had been opened through the digital yuan app. The multi-central bank digital currency bridge, or mBridge, had processed a cumulative 4,047 cross-border payment transactions worth the equivalent of RMB 387.2 billion, with the digital yuan accounting for about 95.3% of transaction value across currencies.