Five myths of the digital currency of the People’s Bank Of China 中國人民銀行數碼貨幣五大疑惑

• This article is first published in the web site of a Chinese newpaper, the content is translated into English by Bing copilot and is located after the Chinese version. This article is first published in 2020, so some of the information may be changed or outdated.
• 本文於2024年2月16日修改標題，由原來“東方日報名家筆陣：人行數碼貨幣五大疑惑” 改為 “中國人民銀行數碼貨幣五大疑惑”

內地新冠肺炎疫情過後，剛剛復工幾周，中國人民銀行數碼貨幣研究所就宣布，數碼人民幣（Digital Currency Electronic Payment，簡稱DCEP）進入測試階段；測試在深圳、蘇州，雄安、成都及未來冬奧場景進行內部封測。

以蘇州為例，公務人員四月底前，將完成人行電子錢包的安裝。五月開始，工資中交通補貼的50%，將以電子貨幣的形式發放。

不過，人行表示，短期內不會全面推廣。網上已經有一些相關報道，可是有些資料網上很少提及，也聽到有不少疑問，筆者嘗試補充一下。

瑞典有先例 料成大趨勢

問：內地是唯一的國家計劃發行電子法定貨幣嗎？

答：中國內地在一四年，由時任人民銀行行長周小川提出，開始規劃發展電子人民幣。世界上其實也有好幾個國家，在計劃推出電子法定貨幣。瑞典今年二月開始，就為期一年的 「電子克朗」進行測試。相信電子法定貨幣，應會是世界性的趨勢。

問：為甚麼不用比特幣而要發行本國的電子法定貨幣？

答：比特幣啟發了電子法定貨幣的產生。比特幣的價值，在於市場對比特幣後市價值的預期。但是商業交易是否接受比特幣，就視乎個別人士或企業了，而且亦無法解決洗黑錢的問題。

電子法定貨幣由政府發行，具有和現金同樣的法律地位，在本國範圍內不能拒絕接受，這樣市民和銀行都不需要依賴現金，可以降低貨幣發行成本，並且有助於降低犯罪例如行劫的可能。

支援小額支付避免洗黑錢

問：數碼人民幣用來取代現金紙幣和硬幣？

答：現金的特性是匿名和小額支付，所以數碼人民幣亦擁有同樣的特性。兩台手機不用聯網就可以支付，但卻不是轉帳，與支付寶、微信支付等第三方支付不同。使用第三方支付時，對方可以看到你的帳號，而數碼人民幣則毋須對方帳號，但要面對面支付。

雖然是匿名，但只能小額支付，所以可降低洗黑錢的風險。一旦警方發現犯罪問題，追蹤資金流向就可以提供一定的破案線索。如果是大額支付，就必須實名或通過銀行進行了。

問：數碼人民幣會不會衝擊銀行或第三方支付呢？

答：數碼人民幣由人民銀行發行，和現在的現金一樣，是通過銀行來面向市民，並不是由人民銀行直接和市民接觸，市民現在可以從銀行提取現金，以後也可以從銀行提取數碼人民幣，放入由人民銀行提供的電子錢包中，當現金進行消費，也可以充值到第三方的支付錢包之中，所以對他們是不會有所影響的。

問：數碼人民幣使用區塊鏈技術嗎？

答：與比特幣等加密幣相比，數碼人民幣也是一個加密的字串，具有比特幣等加密幣的優勢，交易不用依賴傳統銀行帳戶體系。中國人民銀行數字貨幣研究所所長穆長春認為， DCEP雖然沒有採用區塊鏈技術，但是具有區塊鏈的內核優勢，脫離帳號也可以價值轉移，能夠滿足可控匿名的支付需求。

香港電腦學會金融科技專家小組執行委員會成員

作者：黃振昌

刊於東方日報名家筆陣 20200513

Translated English version

After the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, just a few weeks after resuming work, the People’s Bank of China Digital Currency Research Institute announced that the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) has entered the testing phase. The testing is being conducted internally in cities such as Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an, Chengdu, and future Winter Olympics venues.

Taking Suzhou as an example, government officials are expected to complete the installation of the People’s Bank electronic wallet by the end of April. Starting in May, 50% of transportation subsidies in salaries will be distributed in the form of digital currency.

However, the People’s Bank has clarified that widespread adoption will not happen in the short term. While there have been related reports online, some information is scarce, and many questions remain unanswered. Let’s address a few of these:

Q: Is mainland China the only country planning to issue digital legal tender?

• No, mainland China began planning the development of digital renminbi (RMB) in 2014, proposed by then-People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan. Several other countries worldwide are also planning to introduce digital legal tender. For instance, Sweden began testing its “e-krona” in February this year, which will run for one year. It is believed that digital legal tender will become a global trend.

Q: Why create a domestic digital legal currency instead of using Bitcoin?

• Bitcoin inspired the creation of digital legal tender. Bitcoin’s value lies in market expectations of its future value. However, whether businesses accept Bitcoin depends on individual preferences, and it does not address money laundering concerns.
• Digital legal tender, issued by the government, holds the same legal status as cash and cannot be refused within the country. This reduces reliance on physical cash, lowers currency issuance costs, and helps combat crimes like robbery.

Q: Will digital RMB replace paper currency and coins?

• Like cash, digital RMB supports anonymity and small transactions. Two phones can make payments without an internet connection, but it is not a transfer like third-party payment platforms (e.g., Alipay, WeChat Pay). With third-party payments, the recipient can see your account, but digital RMB does not require account information, only face-to-face transactions.
• While anonymous, it is limited to small transactions, reducing the risk of money laundering. If criminal activity is detected, tracking the flow of funds provides investigative leads. For large transactions, real names or bank channels are necessary.

Q: Will digital RMB impact banks or third-party payments?

• Digital RMB, like cash, is distributed through banks to citizens. It does not directly involve the People’s Bank. Citizens can currently withdraw cash from banks and will also be able to withdraw digital RMB into the electronic wallet provided by the People’s Bank. It can be used for consumption and recharged into third-party payment wallets, so it won’t significantly affect them.

Q: Does digital RMB use blockchain technology?

• Compared to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, digital RMB is an encrypted string with similar advantages. Transactions do not rely on traditional bank account systems. Although DCEP does not use blockchain technology, it has an underlying blockchain-like core, allowing value transfer without account dependency, meeting controlled anonymity requirements.

This information is provided by a member of the Hong Kong Computer Society’s Financial Technology Expert Committee.

Chinese version published on 13 May 2020