US proposed banning apps that support digital yuan payments

According to senators, operations with e-CNY can give the Chinese government access to Americans’ confidential data

27.05.2022 - 13:25

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2 min

What’s new? US senators have proposed banning applications that support digital yuan transactions. The bill was drafted by Republican Party members Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, and Mike Braun. According to them, companies that have app stores, such as Apple or Google, should not host services where e-CNY payments are available. Officials believe that by using the nation’s digital currency, the Chinese authorities can gain access to Americans’ confidential data. This is reported by Reuters.

Material by Reuters

What events happened before? In March, Senators Bill Cassidy and Marsha Blackburn introduced the Say No To the SilkRoad Act, which aims to establish new regulations and guidelines on the digital yuan. The senators fear that e-CNY would enable the PRC authorities to collect users’ personal data.

On April 2, the People’s Bank of China launched the second phase of testing the digital yuan. The bank noted that the first phase of testing, which took place at the Winter Olympics, was successful and the scale of transactions and users continues to grow.

Since April 25, six Chinese cities in Zhejiang province began to test paying taxes using the digital yuan. Through e-CNY, residents in the province can pay income tax, property tax and make social security contributions. In addition, the government connected 72 toll road collection points to the test program.

In May, the Bank of Russia’s First Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova reported that the regulator plans to develop technological interaction with other countries through the faster payment system and the digital ruble. In addition, the bank sees opportunities to integrate the electronic ruble with foreign digital currencies such as the yuan.

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