(Yicai Global) Sept. 5 -- Merchandise bearing a proprietary logo for China’s e-yuan was on display at the ongoing China International Fair for Trade in Services to entice attendees to open accounts in the digital currency and spend it on the goods.

Nicknamed ‘Yuanyuan,’ the logo was designed by a digital currency research institute under the People’s Bank of China, and the merchandise was created by banks attending the trade event which ends today.

“I opened e-yuan accounts at several banks today in order to buy the merchandise,” an attendee told Yicai Global, after purchasing a number of the items. “I’ve heard about the digital yuan, but I’d never used it before today. I found it really convenient.”

Using e-yuan to open blind boxes, play claw machine arcade games, buy drinks and natural gas are some of fun uses introduced at the digital yuan exhibition area of this year’s CIFTIS.

The first publicly available physical e-yuan card, described as a low-carbon card, was also unveiled at the CIFTIS to provide an alternative to the usual payment method of using the digital yuan app on mobile phones.

The card, jointly issued by Bank of China and Chinese internet giant Meituan, can be used to quickly pay in different online and offline scenarios, including on public transport.

“I rarely use smart phones,” an elderly woman told Yicai Global. “So for people like me, this low-carbon card is very useful and convenient to use.” She picked hers up at the CIFTIS.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country’s largest lender, has also launched more than 10 e-yuan hardware wallet products at the CIFTIS, including a smart watch, a digital employee card, a smart student identity card, an electronic seniors card, and a super SIM card.

Digital yuan use is becoming more popular. As of May 31, pilot areas in 15 provinces and cities in China completed about 264 million e-yuan transactions, amounting to about CNY83 billion (USD12 billion), according to official data.

Some 4.6 million retail stores support e-yuan payments. And the numbers have been rising quickly. By the end of June 2021, some 70.8 million digital yuan transactions had been made, with a total tally of about CNY34.5 billion, the latest government data showed.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi