(Yicai Global) Aug. 31 -- China Construction Bank, one of the big four state-owned commercial banks, said its recent digital currency test should not be mistaken as marking the official start of a yuan-based virtual coin.

CCB wrapped up a short-lived trial and refunded money deposited by customers into digital wallets, the Beijing-based lender said on Aug. 29, adding that its crypto products are still in development.

No timetable has yet been set for the launch of China’s sovereign digital currency. It will first undergo trials within closed environments in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an New Area, Chengdu and at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said in May. Ongoing tests are just routine acts in the course of research and development and do not indicate the crypto’s official start, he added.

The central bank is also working with other lenders, ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and internet-based service providers to study using the virtual currency -- known as digital currency electronic payment, or DCEP -- in real-life situations.

Only specially invited customers took part in CCB’s tests, the bank said. The system would automatically log out of savings accounts on which virtual wallets had been opened, and deposits would be returned before yesterday, it added.

The services tested included inquiries, payments, conversion of yuan into foreign currencies and vice-versa, fund transfers and payments of credit card bills.

CCB’s digital wallets come in four types, 21 Century Business Herald reported. Its type-2 wallets, for instance, have a CNY500,000 (USD72,920) annual transfer limit, while that for a single day or single transfer is CNY100,000 and CNY50,000, respectively. If recipients have also opened digital wallets, funds are wired by keying in their names, phone numbers and other information.

CCB’s trials would not affect the bank’s commercial operations or impact yuan issuance and circulation or financial markets and society outside of the pilot environment, it added.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Ben Armour