Digital yuan gives holiday, Olympic shopping a festive charge

Red packets containing the digital yuan, or e-CNY, were distributed in several cities to boost consumption while China is taking the opportunity of Spring Festival and the Beijing Winter Olympics to further test and promote broader use of its digital currency.

Six large State-owned commercial banks distributed e-CNY red packets worth a total of 25 million yuan ($3.93 million) in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, covering different scenarios such as public transport and discount shopping at Yitian Holiday Plaza, a shopping mall in the city's Nanshan district.

In Suzhou, Jiangsu province, the Suzhou Motion Picture Association joined hands with the Suzhou branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in offering discounts to some moviegoers paying with e-CNY. Started on Jan 30, the promotion will last until the end of March, offering 50,000 discounted tickets.