Digital yuan goes head to head with Alipay, WeChat in Beijing

China’s official app for digital yuan is seen on a mobile phone next to 100-yuan banknotes. The People’s Bank of China is pulling out all the stops to promote the e-currency to a population far more used to transacting on a daily basis using WeChat Pay and Alipay. — Reuters

Swipe your bracelet, watch or even a walking stick, and you can pay for your goods with digital yuan.

These are just some of the quirky gadgets that China’s central bank, lenders and technology giants are showcasing to Beijing residents ahead of a broader rollout of the e-currency when the city hosts the Winter Olympics in February. The wearable devices, embedded with a digital yuan chip, can be tapped against a scanner, transferring the currency from an e-wallet without needing an Internet connection.