On midnight of Oct. 18, the “2020 gift from Luohu” digital yuan test launch co-organized by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government and the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, came to an end. [File photo]

On midnight of Oct. 18, the “2020 gift from Luohu” digital yuan test launch co-organized by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government and the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, came to an end.

As part of the activity, a total of 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) in the form of digital renminbi consumption subsidies was dispatched to local residents after they drew lots via a local government app.

As of 8 am on Oct. 11, a total of 1.91 million people had registered to take part in the lot drawing, and 50,000 obtained a “red envelop” each containing 200 yuan.

By midnight on Oct 18, 8.76 million of the 10 million yuan had been spent across more than 3,000 shops that accepted the digital renminbi payment system in Luohu, including Walmart. The 50,000 recipients of the digital currency have since recharged a total of 901,000 yuan onto their “digital renminbi wallets.”

During the event, the Shenzhen government opened special hotlines to answer people’s queries about how to use the digital renminbi.

As of Oct 18, 6,652 phone calls from digital renminbi users had been made to the hotlines, with 99.3% of the calls being answered.

This is the first time digital renminbi has been tested at such a large scale and involving common consumers, local governments and shops. Previous tests were mainly conducted between the government, financial agencies and shops.

The rollout in Luohu was a test in the research and development of the digital currency and does not signify that the digital renminbi will be launched in the mainstream market soon.

It is to be hoped that the digital renminbi will eventually make life more convenient and help protect the stability and safety of China's financial system.