China has widened the commercial banking network supporting its central bank digital currency, adding eight more institutions to the e-CNY operator system this week. The latest group includes Bank of Shanghai and Bank of Hangzhou and brings the total number of participating banks to 30.
The expansion follows an earlier increase in April, when the People’s Bank of China added 12 operators. Combined, those two rounds have lifted the network from 10 banks at the start of the year to 30, underscoring a broader push to distribute the digital yuan through more commercial lenders.
Eight more banks join the system
According to the source report, the newly added banks have already completed their connections to the e-CNY central system. They are expected to begin offering related services after finishing the remaining operational and technical development work.
Bank of Shanghai and Bank of Hangzhou were named among the latest participants. The report says the new banks entered the operator network this week as China continued to expand the reach of its digital yuan infrastructure.
Rapid growth since April
The latest additions come after the PBOC brought 12 more banks into the system in April. That earlier move increased the number of participating institutions to 22 from 10.
With eight further entrants now added, China has brought in 20 institutions this year. The total number of e-CNY operator banks has therefore tripled from the level recorded at the beginning of the year.
How the e-CNY framework is structured
China’s digital yuan operates under a two-tier model that splits responsibilities between the central bank and commercial lenders. In this arrangement, the PBOC runs the core system, while licensed banks are responsible for customer-facing services.
Those services include opening wallets, handling top-ups and exchange, processing payments, and carrying out anti-money laundering functions. The structure is designed to place distribution and day-to-day retail operations in the hands of commercial institutions while the central bank retains control over the underlying platform.
January rule change and next steps
The report also notes that China revised the e-CNY operating framework in January. Under that change, e-CNY held in commercial bank wallets is classified as a deposit, and the banks holding those balances are required to pay interest on them.
The PBOC is planning to keep expanding the list of e-CNY operators. For the newest entrants, the next confirmed step is to complete the remaining technical and operational preparation before launching services through the central bank’s digital currency system.
Source: en.bloomingbit.io