Futian is making full efforts to promote the comprehensive, all-ecosystem, all-scenario, and all-chain application of the digital yuan.

Issued by the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, the digital yuan is positioned as a legal tender, designed to be treated as M0, meaning cash in circulation, such as coins and banknotes. At present, 17 provincial-level regions in China have piloted the use of digital yuan, according to a Xinhua report January 30 in 2023.

Futian has launched the pilot project of paying government staff in the district with digital yuan for their salaries.

This comes on the top of previous pilot projects of paying industrial fund allocation and subsidies for public officials in digital yuan and the new pilot project will include all local budgetary units in the district.

The first batch of salaries will be fully distributed in the form of digital yuan in September, further establishing Futian as a leading pilot government agency for digital yuan nationwide.

In June 2023, Futian issued the " action plan for the high-quality construction of the digital yuan demonstration zone," aiming to promote the joint efforts of various departments and streets in the district to achieve full-scenario implementation of the digital yuan.

According to the action plan, Futian strives to promote the full coverage of digital yuan use in government agencies to build the district government a leading pilot government for digital yuan use nationwide.

The district will also promote the prepayment consumption model of the digital yuan, focusing on expanding the coverage of pilot institutions and improving the coverage rate in the education and training sector, striving to implement prepayment applications in new scenarios such as beauty salons and hair salons.

Futian will expand the digital yuan use in  cross-border consumption between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, creating a new situation of cooperation on the digital yuan between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

In May 2022, Futian became the first in the country to implement a pilot project for the the digital yuan use in prepaid consumption.

Leveraging the advantages of smart contracts for the digital yuan, Futian’s district government and China Construction Bank Shenzhen branch jointly conducted a pilot project with high-quality education and training institutions in the district to promote the construction of a prepaid platform for the digital yuan in education and training institutions.

After consumers use digital yuan to make payments on the platform, the prepaid funds will be "frozen" in the digital yuan wallet. The funds can be cleared and released based on different redemption methods such as the number of classes through the underlying technology of the digital yuan.

If the institution fails to fulfill the contract, consumers can apply for a quick refund of the unredemption amount, which is beneficial for protecting consumer rights and property.

Up to now, the Futian District Prepaid Business Governance Platform for digital yuan has listed more than 280 courses, with a cumulative prepaid amount exceeding 5 million yuan (US$686,500) and a growth rate of 400% in the past three months.

It has achieved "zero complaints" in contract disputes for education and training institutions that have adopted digital yuan prepaid applications, effectively verifying its feasibility and reliability and providing strong momentum for high-quality commercial and consumer development in Futian.

Futian also provides full-chain support for financial technology companies engaged in digital yuan-related information technology and payment services.

In May 2023, the district issued the "several policies to support investment promotion and introducing investment in Futian and several measures to support the high-quality development of the financial industry in Futian," providing one-time settlement support for eligible enterprises in the digital yuan industrial chain and other financial technology companies and encouraging them to settle in Futian with a maximum support fund of up to 8 million yuan.

On December 6, 2021, the Futian district government, the Shenzhen central branch of the People's Bank of China and the Shenzhen Institute of Financial Technology signed an agreement to promote the construction of the digital yuan demonstration zone.

The agreement is aimed to help jointly build the first and currently only digital yuan demonstration zone in the country.

According to the agreement, Futian will take the lead in accelerating the optimization of the digital yuan financial infrastructure system, expanding innovative application scenarios for the digital yuan, creating a sustainable development trend for digital yuan applications and exploring the construction of a comprehensive and efficient digital yuan ecosystem.

In July 2022, the first digital yuan provident fund window in China started its operation at the Shenzhen central branch of Bank of China in Futian.

In January 2023, an application achievement conference for digital yuan, hosted by Shenzhen Unicom, Agricultural Bank of China’s Shenzhen branch and National Technologies Inc., was held in Futian, marking the official implementation of the innovative application achievements of the digital yuan in the district.

The newly launched digital yuan wallet adopts self-developed financial-grade security chips, providing users with a comprehensive solution that integrates identity verification and fee payments.