(Yicai Global) July 11 -- Bank of China has joined hands with telecom giants China Unicom and China Telecom on a SIM card-based payment function for China’s digital yuan that enables transactions without internet access or phone battery power.

The new feature, which launches today, links the e-yuan software wallet to a super SIM card, so the SIM has the payment function, the Beijing-based bank said in a statement yesterday. It will be available soon in some pilot areas and will be expanded to others later, the bank added.

Users need to install the super SIM in their phones, log in to the digital yuan app, activate the SIM card hardware wallet function, and then use the near-field communication function on their phones to complete digital yuan payments. Only Android phones with near field communication technology are compatible.

Chinese telecom operators came out with super SIM cards in 2016. They have a larger memory capacity than ordinary SIMs to store more data. Digital yuan, bank cards, bus cards, and security access control cards have been integrated into super SIM cards so far.

The People’s Bank of China unveiled the digital yuan based on blockchain technology in April 2020. It has been used on a trial basis in cities in 17 provincial-level regions, including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Hebei, and Sichuan.

Editor: Futura Costaglione