Two-tier operation system of digital RMB

Digital RMB adopts a two-tier operation system of "central bank-commercial banks/other operating institutions". The first layer is the central bank, and the second layer is commercial banks, telecom operators and third-party payment network platform companies.

According to Fan Yifei, deputy governor of the central bank, the central bank is at the core of the digital RMB system, and is responsible for wholesale and life-cycle management of digital RMB to designated commercial banks. Commercial banks and other institutions are responsible for providing digital RMB exchange and circulation services to the public. According to Wang Yongli, former vice president of China Bank and chief economist of Deep Sea King Group, the central bank selected commercial banks with strong financial and technical strength as designated operating institutions, and opened different types of digital RMB wallets for them to provide digital RMB exchange services according to the intensity of customer information identification. Designated operating institutions cooperate with other commercial banks and related institutions to provide digital RMB circulation services. Digital RMB can only be used for receipt and payment, not for issuing loans, so it does not bear interest.

Digital RMB:

Digital RMB, abbreviated as "e-CNY" according to international usage practice, is a legal tender in digital form issued by the People's Bank of China, operated by designated operating institutions and exchanged by the public. Based on the generalized account system, it supports the loose coupling function of bank accounts, which is equivalent to paper money and coins, has value characteristics and legal compensation, and supports controllable anonymity.

The concept of digital RMB has two key points. One is that digital RMB is legal tender in digital form; Another point is that it is equivalent to paper money and coins. Digital RMB is mainly located in M0, that is, cash and coins in circulation. Mainly positioned as cash payment voucher (M0), which will coexist with physical RMB for a long time, and is mainly used to meet the public's demand for digital cash and help inclusive finance.

R&D test has basically completed the top-level design, functional research and development, system debugging and other work, and is following the principles of stability, safety, controllability, innovation and practicality, and selecting some representative areas to carry out pilot tests.

Functional features:

Legal tender:

Digital RMB, issued by the People's Bank of China, is the legal tender with the ability of national credit endorsement and legal compensation.

Compared with virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, digital RMB is legal tender, equivalent to legal tender, and has the highest effectiveness and security. Bitcoin is a virtual asset, which has no value basis, does not enjoy any sovereign credit guarantee, and cannot guarantee the stability of its value. This is the most fundamental difference between digital currency, the central bank and bitcoin.

Two-tier operation system:

Digital RMB adopts a two-tier operation system. That is, the People's Bank of China does not directly issue and exchange the central bank's digital currency to the public, but first exchanges the digital RMB to designated operating institutions, such as commercial banks or other commercial institutions, and then these institutions exchange it to the public. Operating institutions need to pay 100% reserve to the People's Bank of China, which is the conversion process of 1: 1 This two-tier operating system is basically the same as issuing paper money, so it will not have a big impact on the existing financial system, nor will it have a big impact on the real economy or financial stability.

DC/EP delivery adopts a two-tier operation mode, which does not compete with the traditional operation mode of commercial banks, and at the same time, it can give full play to the enthusiasm of commercial banks and other institutions in technological innovation: digital currency delivery system ensures that DC/EP is not oversubscribed, and only when the currency generation request meets the verification rules will it send the corresponding quota voucher.

According to the general account system:

Under the current digital currency system, anything that can form a unique personal identity can become an account. For example, the license plate number can be a sub-wallet of digital RMB, which can be paid through expressway or when parking. This is the concept of generalized account system.

The bank account system is a very strict system, which generally requires a lot of documents and personal information to open a bank account.

Support loose coupling of bank accounts:

Supporting loose coupling of bank accounts means that digital RMB wallets can be opened without bank accounts.

For some people in rural or remote mountainous areas, overseas tourists coming to China, etc. People who are unable or inconvenient to hold bank accounts can also enjoy the corresponding financial services through digital wallets, which will help realize inclusive finance.