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Currencies

China makes digital yuan transfers as easy as using a phone

Currency pilot program to launch in Suzhou as JD.com jumps on board

China's official app for the digital yuan: The central bank aims for a full rollout of the digital currency by the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.   © Reuters

BEIJING -- China will expand trials of its digital yuan Friday evening with a feature letting individuals send money to each other by just touching their smartphones together, broadening use of the new currency beyond physical stores.

Up to 1,000 people in Suzhou will participate in a test of the new function -- which can be used even without an internet connection -- alongside a digital yuan "lottery" in the city. The goal is to make sending electronic money feel like having physical cash change hands. Huawei Technologies has rolled out phones that support the feature.

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