Digital yuan’s merchant fee removal worries point-of-sale manufacturers

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Ahead of a mainstream rollout of China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), point of sale (POS) manufacturers have expressed concerns over a potential slump in their earnings following the widespread adoption of the digital yuan.

The People’s Bank of China’s (PBoC) decision to eliminate merchant fees on digital yuan transactions has triggered a wave of discontent among POS manufacturers, according to reports. While the PBoC’s decides to stimulate acceptance of the CBDC by vendors, there appears to be a consensus that POS equipment manufacturers will lose a chunk of their earnings.

Analysts expect manufacturers to drag their feet on adapting existing POS equipment to be compatible with the digital yuan. The “boycott” will inevitably lead to a POS equipment shortage compatible with the digital yuan, denting the PBoC’s ambitions to increase adoption.

Currently, the Chinese central bank faces an uphill task in snagging away market share from existing payment alternatives such as Alipay and Tencent to its budding digital yuan payment system. A scarcity of POS support for the digital yuan may have several consequences for the PBoC’s cause, including low usage among other more popular payment services in China.

Aware of the threat facing the digital yuan, the PBoC disclosed that it could roll out a series of incentives for POS manufacturers to create devices with CBDC compatibility before a full-scale launch of the offering. Alternatively, the central bank could offer free POS upgrades or issue free devices with CBDC compatibility to merchants. Still, the logistics and costs associated with the move may see the regulator opt for the first option.

Presently, the digital yuan’s competition charges merchants up to 0.6% per mobile transaction, with one industry player noting that the PBoC can swing the POS debacle into a major adoption win if it plays its cards right.

Rolling out CBDC solutions has always ruffled the feathers of existing industry players across several jurisdictions, including banks, POS manufacturers, and private payment operators. Banks have expressed concern over the risks of disintermediation following the widespread use of retail CBDCs, affecting their abilities to issue loans and, ultimately, their profitability.

Enterprises and businesses leading the charge for adoption

New data from China’s Jiangsu province reveals that enterprises are leading digital yuan usage in the country, exceeding individual transactions. With a focus on telecoms, corporate entities spent a whopping 200 million yuan (US$27 million) in the first six months of 2023.

Keen on encouraging individual usage, the PBoC says it will expand CBDCs to more retail use cases before a mainstream launch.

“The first thing to be upgraded is the payment tool used in retail scenarios, that is, the digital renminbi is used as the payment tool in all retail scenarios,” said one PBoC official.

To learn more about central bank digital currencies and some of the design decisions that need to be considered when creating and launching it, read nChain’s CBDC playbook.

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