In China, new experiments offer shoppers a single “aggregate” QR code that works for the digital yuan as well as other digital payment apps Alipay, WeChat Pay, and UnionPay QuickPass. An unusually frank press report acknowledges the low usage of the central bank digital currency (CBDC). Most usage is for government use cases or ‘red envelope’ money giveaways.
This slow uptake is despite an ever increasing number of scenarios where consumers can use the digital RMB. Part of the problem is that people don’t always know where they can pay with the CBDC. If all retail outlets start using the aggregate QR code, that could quickly expand the options for the digital renminbi.
Given the dominance of Alipay and WeChat Pay in mobile payments, UnionPay’s QuickPass initially encountered the same challenge.
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