Digital Renminbi has been in development for ten years since its initiation in 2014. Although the pilot scope has gradually expanded, covering more than half of China's provinces, the actual usage has not been ideal—mature mobile payment platforms like WeChat Pay and Alipay are too competitive, resulting in slow overall penetration growth and the delayed achievement of nationwide deployment.

Until recently, the central bank finally issued a new signal. On December 29, the People's Bank of China announced an important institutional adjustment: starting from January 1, 2026, all commercial banks operating digital renminbi wallets will pay interest based on the amount of digital renminbi held by users. What does this mean? Simply put, holding digital renminbi will no longer be zero return. The introduction of this incentive mechanism is clearly aimed at boosting user willingness to use it.

This shift reflects a core understanding of the central bank: convenience alone is no longer enough to attract users; real monetary benefits are also needed. From a technical perspective, the underlying scheme of digital renminbi has long been mature; from a policy perspective, the pilot has covered sufficiently broad regions. The current challenge is to improve usage rates and activity levels. The addition of an interest-paying mechanism could become a key turning point in this long-term push.

It is worth noting that this also marks a re-evaluation of the positioning of digital renminbi by the central bank—from a simple payment tool to a digital asset with financial attributes. Future competition may not only involve convenience and security but also yield comparison.