People’s Bank of China announces 12 new e-CNY operators in March 2026
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has accelerated its push to internationalise the digital yuan, as cumulative transaction values surpassed $2.3 trillion (approximately 16.7 trillion yuan) by late November 2025.
This rapid growth of the e-CNY, China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), highlights Beijing’s long-term strategy to provide a sovereign alternative to the U.S. dollar-ominated global financial system. Governor Pan Gongsheng has specifically signaled the project’s expansion with plans for an international e-CNY operations center in Shanghai.
The system’s scale is difficult to overstate. By mid-January 2026, the digital yuan had grown more than 800% since 2023, solidifying its place as the world’s largest live CBDC experiment. This expansion follows a major framework upgrade on January 1, 2026, which transitioned the e-CNY into an interest-bearing deposit system.
The rollout also integrated a new generation of operational mechanisms and management systems designed to move the currency beyond a simple replacement for physical cash.
This digital transition arrives as global corporations rethink their logistics, with supply chain resiliency increasingly prioritised over cost in an era of geopolitical volatility. For China, the e-CNY offers a “greenfield” payment rail that bypasses traditional Western-controlled infrastructure. This independence is a key pillar of China’s financial sovereignty, reducing and potentially neutralizing the impact of external sanctions on its trade partners.
Project mBridge and the expansion of cross-border settlements
While domestic usage is high, the international utility of the e-CNY is where its impact on the dollar is most direct. Project mBridge, a collaboration between the PBOC, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and the central banks of Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, has seen explosive growth.
By January 16, 2026, the project’s transaction volume surged to $55.49 billion, with the digital yuan representing over 95% of total settlement volume.
In May 2026, the PBOC and HKMA reached a new milestone in facilitating retail-level cross-border payments. The expansion allows Hong Kong residents to set up e-CNY wallets and top them up using the local Faster Payment System (FPS).
This integration bridges the mainland’s digital infrastructure with one of the world’s most vital financial hubs, creating a template for similar corridors across Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Commercial bank adoption and the role of new technologies
To manage the increasing complexity of the system, the PBOC announced in March 2026 that it would authorize 12 additional financial institutions to handle e-CNY operations. This group includes Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and China Everbright Bank. These authorized operators are crucial for managing the interest-bearing features and onboarding millions of personal wallets, which had already reached 230 million by late 2025.
The banking sector is also preparing for the heavy technological demands of a digital-first economy. UBS Asia President Iqbal Khan views AI as the biggest transformation for the industry, and the e-CNY provides a data-rich environment for these tools.
Every digital transaction produces granular data on the PBOC’s ledger, which can be used to improve credit scoring and government procurement efficiency in the 230 million active wallets.
Domestic penetration and government fiscal integration
The Chinese government is actively driving adoption by embedding the digital yuan into its fiscal spending programs. By the end of May 2026, selected pilot regions began using the e-CNY for government salary payments, subsidies, and procurement. Even public lottery draws have been integrated into the digital yuan ecosystem to familiarise the general public with the app’s functionality in daily life.
Accessibility for foreigners has also been a priority for the People’s Bank of China. The Digital RMB app now supports mobile phone numbers from over 210 countries and regions. This allows international visitors to open anonymous digital wallets without needing a mainland bank account.
This move ensures that the currency remains a viable tool for tourists and business travelers across the 26 confirmed pilot cities, including Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing.
The centrally controlled nature of the e-CNY distinguishes it from decentralized digital assets. While Bitcoin recently saw institutional outflows amid price volatility, the digital yuan remains pegged to the renminbi and backed by the full credit of the Chinese state. This provides the stability required for high-value international trade contracts that the PBOC hopes will eventually chip away at the dollar’s global hegemony.
Future outlook for the international operations center
The next phase of the rollout centers on Shanghai, where the international e-CNY operations center will serve as the hub for cross-border liquidity. With 3.4 billion transactions already processed by the end of 2025, the infrastructure is scaling to meet the needs of a multi-polar financial system. The PBOC’s “Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Digital Finance” continues to guide this transition through 2026.
The rollout is not just about technology; it is a fundamental shift in how global trade is settled. As China broadens the adoption of its digital yuan through lottery draws and fiscal spending, it creates a self-sustaining ecosystem that is difficult for private competitors to replicate.
The question remains whether other major economies will develop competing CBDCs or continue to rely on the traditional dollar-based rails.