Following a giveaway of 10 million yuan in digital currency for a trial in Shenzhen, users gave mixed reviews about their experience and thoughts on future adoption.
Shenzhen consumers spent a total of 8.8 million yuan ($1.3 million) – with 1.2 million yuan unspent – across the city’s designated vendors, from high-end luxury stores to supermarkets. A total of 62,7888 transactions were executed through 3,389 designated shops in the city last week.
1.9 million individuals applied to participate and receive «red envelopes» containing 200 yuan ($30 million) each and instructions to spend it before the trial deadline.
Although vendors lauded the efforts, highlighting the fee-free advantage compared to traditional payment providers, users reportedly gave mixed reviews.
Upvote – Similar to Incumbents
According to an «SCMP» report, positive user review noted the strong resemblance to incumbent payment giants like WeChat Pay and Alipay alongside greater confidence about security.
«There is not much difference compared to WeChat Pay and Alipay when I pay with this [digital currency] app, but I feel the digital currency is more reliable and much safer,» the report said citing a Chinese social media post from Weibo.
«[A]nd I look forward to more features with this app in the future.»
Downvote – Same, Same But Different
Elsewhere, other reviews echoed the exact same observations about the digital yuan’s similarities with the ruling tech duo but noted this as a disadvantage.
«Alipay and WeChat Pay have been out for a long time,» according to a «Reuters» report citing a female accountant surnamed Zhong, adding that future adoption would depend on convenience and security. «The new digital currency is similar to those so it’s quite late to just start the trial.»
Another user said she had no plans on reusing the digital yuan due to relative inconvenience, «unless there is another red envelope, of course».
