Ningbo is a city in China’s Northeast Zhejiang Province.

An official release from Ningbo Rail Transit announced that all 125 of its metro stations will accept the country’s digital yuan in payment via the subway systems dedicated app. The move is in furtherance of the stated objective of the Chinese central bank to expand adoption of the Chinese digital currency. (CryptoNews)

e-CNY

The subway app will ask the commuter to link e-CNY (the digital yuan) wallets from any of the following Chinese banks that are participating in the digital yuan pilot:

• Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
• Agricultural Bank of China
• Bank of China
• China Construction Bank
• Bank of Communications
• Postal Savings Bank

Once a wallet is linked inside the app, the commuter only has to scan a QR code at ticket barriers with their mobile phone and the fare amount will automatically deduct from the wallet.

To encourage commuters to use the e-CNY for payment of fares, the rail authority said a certain number of commuters – chosen at random – will be charged just “one penny” (fractions of USD 1) to ride the metro until September 4.

Ningbo is a major naval base, has a free trade zone, and a fully foreign-owned industrial park. A highly industrialized city, Ningbo is home to about 9.5 million people.

The e-CNY initiative is also available in the city of Guanzhou, where it is now possible to pay for public bus rides with the digital yuan on 10 transit routes – a first for the country. A similar procedure of app-based QR code scan applies.

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