中國邀請螞蟻集团支持的网商银行開展電子人民幣試驗

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Business

China Enlists Ant-backed MYbank in Expanding Digital Yuan Trial

Bloomberg News

Bloomberg Sun., February 21, 2021, 11:00 p.m.

(Bloomberg) -- Ant-backed MYbank will join China’s digital yuan trial as the central bank charges ahead with rolling out an electronic currency system that could uproot the country’s payments landscape.

MYbank’s service will soon be introduced to the People’s Bank of China’s digital yuan app, people familiar said, requesting not to be identified because the matter is private. Tencent-backed WeBank will also participate, one of the people said. The e-wallets from the two firms will have exactly the same functions as those from the six state-owned lenders in the trial, said the person.

Adding the two banks to the pilot will help China’s central bank expand its influence and user coverage in its push to establish the first digital national currency from a major central bank. When the People’s Bank of China first announced its plans, it was viewed by some as a government move to reclaim the 293 trillion yuan ($45 trillion) payments industry from to Ant Group Co.’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat Pay.

As one of the parties participating in the research and development of PRC’s e-CNY, MYbank will “steadily advance the trial pursuant to the overall arrangement of the People’s Bank of China,” the company said in an emailed response without elaborating. WeBank declined to comment in an emailed statement. The PBOC didn’t immediately respond to a fax seeking comment.

In China, smart-phone-based electronic payments are ubiquitous, used for everything from bus-rides and convenience stores to vegetables at the local market -- and 94% of those mobile transactions are controlled by the two firms. Yet the tech giants are facing tougher times ahead under President Xi Jinping’s government, which has already stepped up oversight of the fintech industry and unveiled tougher antitrust regulations for the internet arena. The digital yuan is being rolled out at a time when China is trying to curb monopolies in the payment space, potentially dealing a blow to Alipay and WeChat Pay’s growth.

Jack Ma’s Ant is the biggest shareholder in MYbank, owning a 30% stake. Tencent is the biggest stakeholder in WeBank, holding 30%.

Translation

（彭博社）- 螞蟻集团支持的网商银行(MYbank)將加入中國的電子人民幣試驗，正值中國央行即將推出一種可以從根本上改變中國支付格局的電子貨幣系統。

有知情人士說，网商银行的服務將很快被引入中國人民銀行的電子人民幣應用程式，由於此事是私人的，因此要求不透露身份。一位知情人士說，騰訊支持的微众银行(WeBank)也將參加。這知情人士又說，兩家公司的電子錢包的功能將與試驗中的六家國有銀行的電子錢包完全相同。

將這兩家銀行納入試點範圍將有助於中國的中央銀行擴大其影響力和用戶覆蓋範圍，從而推動建立第一個主要中央銀行的電子國家貨幣。當中國人民銀行首次宣布其計劃時，有人認為這是政府的舉動，是將293萬億元人民幣（45萬億美元）的支付行業從螞蟻集團的支付寶和騰訊控股的微信支付中收回手中。

作為參與中國電子人民幣研究和開發的各方之其中的一公司, 在其一封未作詳細說明的電子郵件回復中表示，网商银行將“根據中國人民銀行的總體安排穩步推進試驗” 。微众拒絕在電子郵件聲明中發表評論。中國人民銀行沒有立即回覆尋求評論的傳真。

在中國，依靠智能手機的電子支付無處不在，從公共汽車，便利店到當地市場的蔬菜，應有盡有，而其中94％的手机上交易是由兩家公司控制的。然而，在習近平主席的政府領導下，科技巨頭們正面臨著更艱難的時期。習近平政府已經加強了對金融科技行業的監管，並公佈了針對互聯網領域更嚴格的反壟斷法規。當電子人民幣在推出時，正值中國試圖遏制支付領域的壟斷，這可能對支付寶和微信支付的增長造成打擊。

馬雲的螞蟻集团是网商银行的最大股東，擁有30％的股份。騰訊是微众银行的最大股東，持有30％的股份。

              So, in China tech giants are facing tougher times ahead under President Xi Jinping’s government which has stepped-up control over the fintech industry and unveiled tougher antitrust regulations for the internet business world inside the country.