(Yicai) Aug. 18 -- The People's Bank of China has admitted eight more banks to its digital yuan clearing system, bringing the total number approved for e-yuan operations to 30.

The PBOC has added Ping An Bank, Evergrowing Bank, China Bohai Bank, Bank of Shanghai, Bank of Hangzhou, Huishang Bank, Bank of Changsha, and Guangxi Beibu Gulf Bank to further enhance the inclusivity and accessibility of digital yuan services, the central bank said on its website yesterday.

The PBOC launched the pilot e-yuan program in 2019 and six state-owned large lenders, two national joint-stock commercial banks, and two internet banks were the first brought into the clearing system. This April, the PBOC added 12 more, including seven joint-stock and five city commercial banks.

The latest expansion will see more commercial banks take part in the digital yuan business, said Wang Pengbo, chief financial sector analyst at Broadcom Consulting. The move will boost the digital currency’s use in local markets and broaden the scope of its use both online and offline, Wang added.

In addition, the inclusion of more financial institutions will foster a fairer competitive market environment, Wang noted, adding that in the long run, this can drive the e-yuan’s development from the pilot phase to a more normalized and extensive usage.

Since January this year, the PBOC has been implementing an action plan to further strengthen the digital yuan’s management and service system and build the related financial infrastructure. Under the plan, banks must pay interest on balances held in customers' real-name e-yuan wallets, adhering to the self-discipline agreement on deposit interest rate pricing.

The arrangement initially formed a compatible incentive structure, allowing lenders to independently manage their asset and liability operations concerning e-yuan wallet balances.

In the future, the scope of digital yuan operators will gradually expand under the premise of controllable risks, experts said at the start of this year. The PBOC will evaluate institutions based on their risk management capabilities, technological strength, and retail business capacity to ensure fair competition and comprehensive service coverage, they noted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev