CCTV News: On October 21, the Digital RMB Operation and Management Center of the People's Bank of China announced the digital RMB infrastructure service system at the 2026 Financial Street Forum, launching two core results: the central bank's digital RMB system and the digital RMB smart contract ecological service framework.

Lu Lei, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, introduced that digital renminbi has entered the era of digital payment from electronic payment.The digital RMB infrastructure has also been upgraded accordingly to become the first comprehensive central bank payment and settlement platform integrating issuance management, retail, wholesale, blockchain, cross-border, smart contract and other services.As of the end of September 2026, the total number of transactions in regions that have launched digital RMB business has reached 4.3 billion, with an amount of approximately 31 trillion yuan.There were 99.67 million transactions in September, with an amount of approximately 1.87 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12% and 123% respectively. 

It is understood that the central bank’s digital RMB system can safely and efficiently handle various types of businesses in various scenarios, including QR code payment, online payment, payment without network and electricity, smart enterprise order payment, trade financing, financial transaction settlement, etc.The digital renminbi smart contract ecological service framework supports financial institutions to flexibly combine services based on customer needs and promotes the widespread application of digital renminbi in various economic and social fields.

Lv Yuan, deputy director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China, said that it comprehensively serves the central bank in fulfilling its duties on the supply side and supports the digital transformation of banks.On the demand side, digital upgrade of financial services will be used to support the transformation and upgrading of the production service industry and the expansion and quality improvement of the lifestyle service industry.The central bank's digital RMB system has completed a comprehensive upgrade and is a core component of the digital RMB infrastructure. 

Wang Haihong, Vice President of HSBC Bank (China) Co., Ltd., said that as one of the first foreign banks to participate in digital renminbi business, they have implemented business in retail and wholesale application scenarios and provided services to dozens of multinational companies to support them in receiving digital renminbi payments from consumers.The international customers of these multinational companies are also increasingly demanding payment in digital renminbi.

The digital RMB infrastructure supports one-point access for participating institutions, without the need for system connections one by one. It supports 24/7 operation, handles various payment services safely and efficiently, and maintains rapid iteration of system service capabilities.In the next step, the central bank's digital RMB system will continue to support system iteration internally and empower industrial innovation externally, benefiting thousands of industries.

Lu Lei said that in the future, the advantages of digital renminbi in trade, accounts receivable and other fields will be expanded to build a more convenient, smarter and more inclusive service system.Forming a closed loop of digital renminbi issuance, payment, investment, and storage. 

Comprehensive upgrade of the digital RMB infrastructure service system

At the 2026 Financial Street Forum Annual Meeting being held in Beijing, the Digital RMB Operation and Management Center of the People's Bank of China announced a comprehensive upgrade of the digital RMB infrastructure service system and released two core results: the central bank's digital RMB system and the digital RMB smart contract ecological service framework.

The central bank’s digital RMB system has become the first comprehensive central bank payment and settlement platform that integrates issuance management, retail, wholesale, blockchain, smart contracts and other services, significantly reducing system access and liquidity management costs.This system can safely and efficiently handle various types of businesses in various scenarios, including QR code payment, online payment, payment without network or electricity, smart enterprise order payment, treasury management, trade financing, financial transaction settlement, etc.

The digital RMB smart contract ecological service framework supports financial institutions to flexibly combine services based on customer needs and promotes the widespread application of digital RMB in various economic and social fields.

Liu Jun, President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, said that relying on the digital RMB smart contract ecological service platform, it has achieved "0 to 1" implementation in the fields of fiscal targeted payment, supply chain finance, prepayment supervision, and consumption-promoting red envelope issuance, and is accelerating its promotion to "1 to N".In addition, we can also see the broad application potential of digital renminbi in emerging fields such as financial markets and offshore finance.