China to let banks pay interest on digital yuan wallets from January 2026

China’s central bank will let banks pay interest on digital yuan wallets from Jan. 1, 2026, reshaping e-CNY as deposit-like money as the US bans CBDCs.

China’s central bank is rolling out a new framework for the digital yuan that will allow commercial banks to pay interest on e-CNY wallet balances starting Jan. 1, 2026, a move officials say will push the central bank digital currency (CBDC) beyond its original role as a cash substitute.

The new CBDC framework will allow banks to treat the digital yuan as part of their asset-liability operations, Lu Lei, a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, wrote in a PBOC-affiliated China Financial News article republished by Sina Finance on Monday.

“The digital RMB will move from the digital cash era to the digital deposit currency (Digital Deposit Money) era,” said Lei in the report. “It has the functions of monetary value scale, value storage, and cross-border payment.”

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