Chinese city now accepts CBDC payments for bus rides

[slapper]

The rate of adoption and the incentives used in Jinan are impressive, but one has to ask if the locals are happy with the change. After all, the goverment's digital currency could be seen as an invasion of privacy due to the high level of oversight and control it permits. Where, though, is the discussion on this?

My other worry is that this will hasten the exclusion of the unbanked and the technologically inept. Do you have a strategy to deal with this? One cannot ignore the geopolitics at play here, even as it is interesting to see the cross-border applications of the digital yuan. Whether or not other countries will be okay with the dominance of a digital currency controlled by another sovereign state is an interesting subject

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[Lucius]

The rate of adoption and the incentives used in Jinan are impressive, but one has to ask if the locals are happy with the change. After all, the goverment's digital currency could be seen as an invasion of privacy due to the high level of oversight and control it permits. Where, though, is the discussion on this?
~snip~

Are you forgetting that this is about China? People in a country where communists are in power are not asked if they want something or not, and anyone who thinks otherwise is an enemy of the state. A country that censors the internet and has the most oversight of people through massive surveillance methods certainly has no problem with something as simple as CBDC.

Besides, they've been testing it for years on tens of millions of people in different provinces, I've never heard anyone complain about it.

[Flexystar]

So what they are doing is: publishing centralised currency through more stricter means and authorities. Now that’s funny. Obviously it’s a dictatorship so people will follow whatever their kings says and point outs. They will have no option but to use centralised digital currency and they will slowly taken away from the decentralised crypto currencies. Yeah, that’s what they did since the beginning. Remembered the era of Chinese miners? It was hot as pan and went too far but at the end in the name of electricity burden they banned the crypto entirely. They got away with the reasons and going even stricter till date.

[Cookdata]

I hope you understand that CBDC is not cryptocurrency not to talk about having something related to bitcoin, this discussion is what you would have best post the thread on politics and society board or economics board where their could be proper discussions on the subject matter, this is bitcoin discussion board and CBDC is nothing but a digital version of fiat currency owned and controlled by the government.

This is not politics, the currency has a vibe and relationship with the economy and so far, CBDC has been trending on this board for several reasons and this one is just the latest development(underdevelopment to me  ), so I don't think this thread should have been in Politics.
CBDC is no different from the commercial apps that we have, they are just defined by a uniform body and mandated and legalized across the country and the way I'm even seeing the used case here, a time will come when the commercial banks will start complaining that the government central bank is not letting them get customers because people now have what they can spend anywhere and more faster than the commercial bank apps. All this will come back and n hurt them and but Bitcoin will always win because Bitcoin is decentralized and its a global currency for everyone.

[Gyfts]

It's relatively easier for China to implement whatever plans the state has because of the kind of government they have. Resistance is very minimal and it could easily be addressed. Critics and other opponents of the measure could be silenced effortlessly.

While this digital currency is obviously an attack against privacy and freedom, to a people who are already deprived of it to a certain extent, nothing anymore matters.

I would expect more resistance in the US and certain parts of the EU, such as Germany, which is a very cash-intensive country. I expect implementation to be much slower, due to inefficient administrations, and adoption much slower as well.

I'm curious, is the CBDC in use the version that has an expiration date?

I would be surprised if they have implemented that already. The logical, and Machiavellian, thing to do is to wait until everyone is using CBDCs to start programming them with the controversial features, such as expiration.

Europe and the U.S. residents hardly understand CBDC's and equate it to crypto currency, so expect little resistance. The Americans had nearly all their freedoms stomped on after 9/11 when the Patriot Act was passed. It essentially allowed government agencies to surveil U.S. citizens and international persons of interest without being subject to probable cause warrants. Seems worthy of outrage, you would assume.

The Biden White House has spent some portion of the U.S. budget to research CBDC's and develop regulatory framework behind it, and hardly any U.S. media publications have latched onto the matter. The Chinese have no choice but to adhere to CDBC's. Europe and the U.S. will voluntarily adhere to them out of ignorance.

[vv181]

Well, the electronic payment option would gradually be changed onto CBDC in one way or the other. A payment system that is facilitated by companies has the edge due to its flexibility and market pressures of technological innovation, while on the other hand, regulation had to catch up with technological improvements.

And here we are right now in the time of governments starting to implement the electronic payment system on their own. Speaking about China, there is nothing unexpected about the news. The authority will surely utilize this kind of technology. The problem is, does the other world, did not vision a similar approach? Or they just implemented such kind of system without being frank that the underlying payment mechanism is tightly related to CBDC? I guess we have to start scrutinising how it will end up going, generally.

[Haunebu]

I always notice these particular Chinese threads popping up now and then where they make it seem like China is very important in the crypto world or something when the fact of the matter is that they aren't.

They made it clear on several occasions that they despise cryptocurrencies like BTC etc and have tried banning them again and again only to fail in an embarassing manner.

Majority of the crypto community don't care about their CBDCs and their influence over the crypto world.

[sunsilk]

If it's CCP, they can implement any new method of payment that they have and everyone is gonna to obliged and comply.

I think they're the first country to start using their own CBDC. While the others are still on the development process, they are so far the very first to apply it to their own people.

But, there's nothing that we should worry about it if they start using their own CBDC. That's the use case of it and made for their own people.

[Bitstar_coin]

China has found another way to exert more control on the financial system within the country. I expect it will be successful and with the incentive in place people would use the CBDC as an alternative to the Yuan.

I personally do not think it will have similar success in other countries where there is more freedom and cryptocurrencies are not banned.

Absolutely correct, the Chinese government has just found a more enhanced way to control the citizens financially and such control is always the most crucial. From the control of fiat to cbdc killing the hope of being financially free in China.
There is no doubt this will be very successful knowing how strick the government can be. I also hope this won't have such effect in other countries, at least people still have the right to chose unlike in China.

[avikz]

Yes good for China and its communist government. But what impact it holds on the economy as a whole? It definitely provides convenience to the users. It save government's money printing cost. But the most important factor here is that the users loose their financial privacy.

Today it is applicable for bus ride only but tomorrow it will be mandated for every types of transactions. That day is not far from becoming a reality. So if you want to cheer on that, you are welcome. I won't!

[Unbunplease]

China is increasingly seeking to control its citizens. Now they will have accurate information about how, when and where a person goes. One of the properties of state-owned cryptocurrencies is that they can be blocked from access. Thus, any citizen can be deprived, in one fell swoop, of the ability to travel by any means of transport

[Darker45]

It's relatively easier for China to implement whatever plans the state has because of the kind of government they have. Resistance is very minimal and it could easily be addressed. Critics and other opponents of the measure could be silenced effortlessly.

While this digital currency is obviously an attack against privacy and freedom, to a people who are already deprived of it to a certain extent, nothing anymore matters.

I would expect more resistance in the US and certain parts of the EU, such as Germany, which is a very cash-intensive country. I expect implementation to be much slower, due to inefficient administrations, and adoption much slower as well.

So far, what I've encountered in the news are mostly resistance coming from the US. If I'm not mistaken, there were already proposed legislations submitted in both houses of congress to prohibit the central bank to issue a CBDC. In addition, a number of states have also expressed their opposition to the idea of a CBDC. Florida even banned it.

We can't tell whether these are sufficient enough to once and for all prevent the Fed from issuing a CBDC, but we can certainly expect that a people who are already fed up with all kinds of surveillance systems will continue to resist it strongly.

I'm curious, is the CBDC in use the version that has an expiration date?

I would be surprised if they have implemented that already. The logical, and Machiavellian, thing to do is to wait until everyone is using CBDCs to start programming them with the controversial features, such as expiration.

Probably as this is perhaps still within the pilot stage. But I don't think adding such feature would change the timeline of the implementation.

[Uruhara]

The rate of adoption and the incentives used in Jinan are impressive, but one has to ask if the locals are happy with the change. After all, the goverment's digital currency could be seen as an invasion of privacy due to the high level of oversight and control it permits. Where, though, is the discussion on this?

My other worry is that this will hasten the exclusion of the unbanked and the technologically inept. Do you have a strategy to deal with this? One cannot ignore the geopolitics at play here, even as it is interesting to see the cross-border applications of the digital yuan. Whether or not other countries will be okay with the dominance of a digital currency controlled by another sovereign state is an interesting subject

So true. and actually China is a very large country and has many remote areas as well. which not all people there understand about technology. But for big cities there do have a very rapid level of progress in the world of technology. so that people in big cities will easily adapt and will probably accept it with enthusiasm. everything has a positive and negative side. but yeah, let's just see what will happen next with the development of digital Yuan there.

[Poker Player]

Europe and the U.S. residents hardly understand CBDC's and equate it to crypto currency, so expect little resistance. The Americans had nearly all their freedoms stomped on after 9/11 when the Patriot Act was passed. It essentially allowed government agencies to surveil U.S. citizens and international persons of interest without being subject to probable cause warrants. Seems worthy of outrage, you would assume.

Yes, well, with COVID some freedoms were also restricted, such as freedom of movement. But I think you are right, most citizens will happily accept CBDCs just like anything else that comes from their government. Although I would expect small resistance groups, minority but some resistance, unlike China, where there is virtually none because it is too dangerous.

[DrBeer]

The rate of adoption and the incentives used in Jinan are impressive, but one has to ask if the locals are happy with the change. After all, the goverment's digital currency could be seen as an invasion of privacy due to the high level of oversight and control it permits. Where, though, is the discussion on this?

My other worry is that this will hasten the exclusion of the unbanked and the technologically inept. Do you have a strategy to deal with this? One cannot ignore the geopolitics at play here, even as it is interesting to see the cross-border applications of the digital yuan. Whether or not other countries will be okay with the dominance of a digital currency controlled by another sovereign state is an interesting subject

The adoption and commissioning of CBDC is not only a transition to new technology, but also a real mechanism of total control over the movement of funds. Now many people do not like fiat, but believe me - after the introduction of CBDC, there will be even less joy, because the technology completely replaces fiat, and implements a total control of our "pockets". As you understand - after that the government will see both the transactions and the balance of funds in the "purse". Plus, there will definitely be a mechanism of forced blocking of wallets and, possibly, of certain "tokens" belonging to "inconvenient" individuals. And the most unpleasant thing is the understanding that this is a generation of blockchain and cryptocurrencies

[Bananington]

Jinan, the capital of eastern China’s Shandong Province, has started encouraging the adoption of the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) by introducing digital yuan payments across all its bus routes.

There are a lot of commuters by bus in China because of the Bus Rapid Transit (BTR) system which makes your movement by bus faster with lesser traffic, and also because public transportation is subsidized by the government to encourage more people in the country to use them. CBDC  adoption in China will be really fast and thrive because of this method and style that has been use to introduce it and ensure usage.
See the estimated number from 2021,

The highest urban public transport ridership in China is by bus or trolley bus, at about 49 billion in 2021. This was followed by 27 billion taxi passengers and around 24 billion metro/subway riders.

https://www.statista.com/topics/5662/urban-public-transportation-in-china/#topicOverview

[Zlantann]

In Asia we know that China has always been at the forefront of every step they take in their approach and economic progress. China always does not want to lose in global economic competition. and included in the adoption of the Central Bank digital financial system which they call CBDC. And actually not only on buses but in other ways China has also been testing their Digital Yuan currency CBDC. and so far they seem to be succeeding in the experiment.

People who care about privacy and decentralization will not consider using CBDCs because they are just digital fiat. The central bank still serves as the intermediary between the sender and the receiver. CBDC has some benefits like a fast and reliable payment system, reduce fraud by exchanges, quick access to banking service to the unbanked population, and effective transborder trades but its drawbacks are enormous. It is a tool of centralization and government control. Anybody aware of the goals of Bitcoin will not fall for the deception of CBDC. If I were in China, I might use the digital yuan for trivial transactions but when it comes to serious business moves, it will never be an option.

[Uruhara]

In Asia we know that China has always been at the forefront of every step they take in their approach and economic progress. China always does not want to lose in global economic competition. and included in the adoption of the Central Bank digital financial system which they call CBDC. And actually not only on buses but in other ways China has also been testing their Digital Yuan currency CBDC. and so far they seem to be succeeding in the experiment.

People who care about privacy and decentralization will not consider using CBDCs because they are just digital fiat. The central bank still serves as the intermediary between the sender and the receiver. CBDC has some benefits like a fast and reliable payment system, reduce fraud by exchanges, quick access to banking service to the unbanked population, and effective transborder trades but its drawbacks are enormous. It is a tool of centralization and government control. Anybody aware of the goals of Bitcoin will not fall for the deception of CBDC. If I were in China, I might use the digital yuan for trivial transactions but when it comes to serious business moves, it will never be an option.

CBDC is not at all different from the usual fiat which carries a centralized system. They just make a digital version of the regular fiat. And actually between the physical fiat and the CBDC, I actually feel that the CBDC has become much more centralized and much easier to control by the center. Behind the ease of use, it must also be easier to control and track. If everyone starts using CBDC including the rich then all their assets will have nothing to hide from the government. different from the physical fiat which can still be hidden in a safe or something like that. but CBDC no completely closed safe. But those who favor a centralized system are more comfortable with this system. because indeed there is a positive side from CBDC one day the assets of government employees can be seen clearly. so they are more difficult to commit corruption. that's the only positive side i found.

but for those who choose not to be controlled then of course Bitcoin remains superior. a decentralized system provides freedom in storing assets. and control is in our own hands. and man loves freedom. then it would not be surprising if the adoption of bitcoin will continue to increase.

[KiaKia]

The acceptance of CBDC is not different from accepting Fiat in that country, this has no impact on the crypto market because CBDC stands alone from crypto so I won't care much about this in any way, things will start taking serious turns if Chinese people are paying taxis and bus rides with crypto coins, that will be awesome and something that will have a big effect on crypto for sure.

I still believe that it will be easier for the government of each country to track their citizen's worth with this CBDC and I don't think I will ever get involved with it unless there is no more physical money in the world.

[jacafbiz]

I don't think anyone is surprised by this, China is one of the countries that bought into the CBDC thing from the scratch, and they have even helped some countries to develop their own platform. China is a country that loves absolute control and there is no better way to control people that have full control of one's financial life. A tool like CBDC can easily be abused and this is a concern of people all these while and I read European Union too are working on their CBDC platform