(Yicai Global) Sept. 9 -- China’s sovereign digital currency is a part of modern financial infrastructure and a major upgrade to the People’s Bank of China’s payment system in terms of technology, organization and business model, a former governor of the central bank said yesterday.

The e-yuan breaks barriers in the payment process, gives users a better experience, realizes the integration of the national financial settlement market and serves as an important foundation for the development of digital finance, Zhou Xiaochuan said at a digital finance forum held in Beijing yesterday.

The country’s Digital Currency Electronic Payments pilot project is being implemented nationwide and the application scenarios are constantly expanding, with good prospects, he said.

Unlike developed countries such as the US and those in Europe which focus on cross-border payments, the e-yuan puts the emphasis on retail applications to make payments more convenient for all types of people, Zhou said.

“It is clear that retail payments are an important basis for ensuring successful international transactions,” Zhou said. “Because if any of the two countries involved does not have efficient and secure digital currency settlement arrangements, it is difficult to achieve cross-border connectivity.”

Since its early days, the e-yuan has advocated controllable anonymity. This not only protects personal data and privacy but also meets regulatory needs for anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing, Zhou added.

Institutions that invest in large-scale IT systems and the use of new digital technologies can provide customers with more convenient and efficient financial services as well as conduct more accurate risk prevention and control, so as to win over the competition, Zhou said.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor