<\/a><\/p>\nThe US Federal Reserve reports that the cost of printing a $1 bill is 5.5 cents while the cost of printing a $5 bill is 11 cents.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne study estimated that in 2018 alone, the global cost of printing paper currency was $35.3 billion. This, by the way, does not include the cost of distributing, collecting, destroying the paper currency and counterfeiting of currency notes,\u201d Mr Khan said.<\/p>\n
Nationalised digital money can also counter new digital currencies, therefore protecting a country’s sovereignty, he added.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the digital yuan is understood to be as much about consumer spending domestically as it is about China\u2019s global trade ambitions.<\/p>\n
Jason Wu, chief executive of digital savings company DeFiner, said its digital currency will allow China to \u201csidestep\u201d a US-dominated financial system and a reliance on the US dollar. It may set China up to become the leader in a globalised digital economy for transactions.<\/p>\n
But beware, he added, of growing competition among major economies to roll out similar digital currency products.<\/p>\n
Facebook\u2019s Libra, for example, is \u201ca very similar move\u201d, Mr Wu told\u00a0The National<\/em>, and he predicted the digital token, backed by a basket of currencies, may gain traction with US legislators as the economy struggles amid the pandemic.<\/p>\nRecently, a lone senator in Congress, Sherrod Brown, has advocated for a digital dollar wallet to be incorporated in consumer stimulus packages amid Covid-19.<\/p>\n
Mr Brown\u2019s pitch for a \u2018FedAccount\u2019 would be a free bank account to receive money, make payments and take out cash through member banks and post offices, according to the bill proposal.<\/p>\n
Analysts have said it is an idea taken right out of Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s playbook. But it actually looks a bit more like China\u2019s current stimulus plan.<\/p>\n
Since last month, digital coupons have been loaded up on Chinese smartphones to encourage spending in restaurants and grocery stores by local government leaders. In Wuhan, for example, about $10 per citizen has been distributed via point-of-purchase apps like WeChat and Alipay.<\/p>\n
\u201cDigital coupons allow the Chinese government to trace the usage of these coupons,\u201d Dr Shirley Yu, an expert on China\u2019s economy and visiting fellow at the London School of Economics, told\u00a0The National<\/em>. She noted that cash, as distributed by the US government recently, \u201cdoes not allow traceability\u201d.<\/p>\nCoupons, by comparison, “allow the government to know which sector is most helped, who uses it and where money is actually spent\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of this crisis we see technology used in China not only in the containment of the epidemic, but also economic rescue. It speeds relief aid and increases efficiency thus enabling a government to more quickly distribute funds to its citizens,” she said.<\/p>\n
So far, 20 countries are officially working on central bank-backed digital currency projects around the world, adding to a growing sense of an emerging competition. China is at the head of the pack.<\/p>\n
\n
Updated: April 27, 2020 08:15 AM<\/p>\n
First published on https:\/\/www.thenational.ae\/business\/banking\/china-takes-steps-to-become-first-cashless-society-after-covid-19-1.1011042<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As contactless payments become the norm amid the worldwide pandemic response, China rolled out its digital currency this month in four cities, setting it up to become the world\u2019s first cashless society. The digital yuan is a public-private initiative, being tested in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiongan and Chengdu by franchisees like McDonald’s and Starbucks, and other …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_meta":"","_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
China takes steps to become first cashless society after Covid-19 - AtoZcrypto<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n