Chinese ride-hailing DiDi to trial China's central bank digital currency

DiDi has partnered strategically with the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) to accelerate the application of the CBDC, known as Digital Currency Electronic Payment, or DCEP, according to CoinDesk. Under the bank’s overall DCEP strategy, DiDi’s DCEP taskforce will design and implement pilot DCEP projects in accordance with rigorous safety, security, and governance standards, a spokesperson of the Chinese ride-hailing mobile service told CoinDesk.

While the details of the rollout are not yet clear, the pilot plan could see one of the first real applications of China’s digital Yuan initiative as Didi touts a reach of over 500 million users in China, offering taxi hailing, private car hailing, automobile solutions, two-wheelers, logistics and delivery, the online publication added.

DiDi is currently the dominant ride-hailing mobile service in China, after merging with a notable local rival in 2015 and acquiring Uber China, backed by investments from SoftBank, Apple, Alibaba, and Tencent since its establishment in 2012.