CCB launches digital currency wallet, the era of digital currency DCEP officially arrives

The progress of the central bank's digital currency is undoubtedly the most important news in 2020. From the internal testing of the DCEP wallet of the Agricultural Bank of China, to the announcement of cooperation by Internet giants such as Meituan, to the testing in four pilot areas of Suzhou, Shenzhen, Xiong'an, and Chengdu, some civil servants have received part of their salary in the form of digital currency, and in some areas, several companies such as McDonald's have begun to pilot digital currency. Everything shows that DCEP is getting closer and closer to the public.

Finally, on August 29, CCB’s digital currency wallet was suddenly opened to the public, announcing the official arrival of the DCEP era.

It is worth mentioning that the digital currency wallet service in the CCB App currently shows that "this function has not yet been officially provided to the public", indicating that the function has not yet been officially launched, but the full picture can still be seen from the existing services.

BlockBeats opened the CCB digital currency wallet as soon as possible and experienced all the functions of this wallet.

How to open a CCB digital currency wallet

Download the China Construction Bank App, enter "digital currency" in the search bar, click "Create digital currency wallet", and complete the activation after binding with the CCB account.

CCB digital currency wallet function

On the wallet homepage, the four most common entry points are: Pay, Receive, Scan, and Transfer. These are the four most common transaction functions on weekdays.

First, let’s look at payment. When you click on payment, a QR code is displayed, similar to Alipay and WeChat, which supports scanning code payment. Interestingly, if the payment code is detected to be screenshotted, the payment code will automatically become invalid to prevent financial loss.

The payment and scanning functions are fully in line with the user habits of Alipay and WeChat. The payment QR code is also displayed. Scanning can call the camera to start the QR code scanning function, which will not be elaborated.

Next, we will introduce the transfer function in detail.

Open the transfer page and you will find that the current wallet is a Class II wallet. Digital currency wallets are divided into four categories according to the degree of real-name verification: Class I (strong real-name verification), Class II (relatively strong real-name verification), Class III (relatively weak real-name verification), and Class IV (weak real-name verification).

When transferring money, transfers to type 2 wallets require the other party's name and mobile phone number or account number. According to the prompts, transfers to type 4 wallets require the most transfer information, while transfers to type 1 wallets require less.

BlockBeats also tested the transfer function, and the transfer time was calculated to be seconds, with almost no delay.

I have not yet experienced the "touch and pay" function that I saw in the internal test of the Agricultural Bank of China's digital currency wallet, and I don't know how the offline transfer function will feel. According to the Daily Planet, if the mobile phone supports NFC, the "touch and pay" function can be used.

After reading the 4 main functions of the digital wallet at the top of the homepage, let’s take a look at the other functions of the wallet.

First, let’s look at “Deposit into wallet” and “Transfer out of wallet”. Both are transfers between digital wallets and bank cards, similar to the relationship between the “balance” in Alipay and bank cards.

"Transaction Details" shows all transaction details of the wallet. BlockBeats experienced the deposit and withdrawal functions twice, both of which were shown in the details.

The two functions of "binding account" and "credit card repayment" are almost the same as our common operations. You can add multiple CCB savings cards and credit cards, and you can also make free credit card repayments directly in the wallet.

What is more interesting is the "View Red Envelope" function. Red envelopes are generally used in social situations, but the CCB digital currency wallet still has a red envelope function design.

There is no entry to further experience the red envelopes, and the "invalid red envelopes" in the upper right corner cannot provide details. Rhythm speculates that the red envelopes in the digital currency wallet may be closer to the gameplay of Alipay's "password red envelopes".

The "wallet upgrade" function refers to the upgrade of the wallet level. We are currently using a Class II wallet after registration. To upgrade to a Class I wallet, we need to go to the CCB counter.

Finally, return to the homepage, and there is a "My" entrance at the bottom, which displays the balance and wallet settings in the wallet. When the wallet is opened, the system will force the user to set a six-digit password, which can be changed in the settings.

Wallet transfer limits and hardware wallets

At present, CCB Digital People's Wallet has also set some transaction limits:

Among them, the upper limit of the balance of the second-class wallet is 10,000 yuan, the upper limit of a single payment is 5,000 yuan, the daily cumulative limit is 10,000 yuan, and the annual cumulative limit is 300,000 yuan.

The upper limit of the balance of the three types of wallets is 2,000 yuan, the upper limit of a single payment is 2,000 yuan, the daily cumulative limit is 2,000 yuan, and the annual cumulative limit is 50,000 yuan;

The upper limit for the balance of the four types of wallets is 1,000 yuan, the upper limit for a single payment is 1,000 yuan, the daily cumulative limit is 1,000 yuan, and the annual cumulative limit is 10,000 yuan.

At the same time, hardware wallets are also mentioned in the "China Construction Bank Digital RMB Wallet Personal Customer Service Agreement".

Old Bitcoin players should be very familiar with hardware wallets, which are wallets with physical properties that are used to securely store Bitcoins and resist hacker attacks, ensuring the security of address funds.

The hardware wallet of CCB digital currency has similar functions and is also responsible for asset security. CCB digital currency hardware wallet is a physical medium for storing digital RMB opened through counters or electronic channels, and has a DCEP carrier with hardware security unit medium. It has basic functions such as redemption, redemption, deposit, withdrawal, consumption, transfer, and inquiry.

What is DCEP

On October 28, 2019, Huang Qifan, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, gave a speech that presented the full picture of the central bank's digital currency DCEP to everyone for the first time. BlockBeats organized the content into a picture at that time.

DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment) is a new encrypted electronic currency system based on blockchain technology. It will replace M0 (RMB circulation) and has the same properties and functions as paper money. No Chinese institution or individual can refuse to accept DCEP. At the same time, DCEP adopts "dual offline payment". Both parties of the transaction are offline. Even in underground shopping malls without signals, transactions can take place.

For the management of DCEP, the central bank will adopt a "two-tier operation" model: individuals and enterprises open digital wallets through commercial banks or commercial institutions, just like cash now, and users can redeem DCEP through bank cards on mobile APP; the central bank mainly manages commercial banks and does not directly face users.

The central bank does not interfere with the choice of technical routes by commercial banks and commercial institutions when exchanging DCEP for the public. According to BlockBeats, as long as commercial institutions can achieve and meet the concurrency, user experience, and technical specifications, they can choose blockchain technology, or traditional account systems, and other payment tools when sending DCEP to users, and the central bank will not interfere.

Now, the wallet APP involved in the picture has started testing, and the application of DCEP is being realized little by little. Judging from the speed from the launch of the concept to the internal testing of the wallet, what Mr. Huang Qifan said, "China may become the first country to issue central bank digital currency," will soon be realized.

Comparison with Alipay and WeChat Pay

This is actually the part that everyone is most concerned about and the most difficult to understand. Since they are all cashless payments, what is the difference between the central bank's digital currency DCEP and Alipay and WeChat Pay.

In fact, from the perspective of use alone, there is no obvious difference in user experience. Alipay and WeChat must and must support DCEP. Using a DCEP digital wallet may not be much different from the daily experience of Alipay. The main difference lies in the nature.

BlockBeats also made a picture last year. Simply put, DCEP is digitized RMB cash, settled by the central bank, and has legal tender. DCEP payment is the first-level direct payment method.

Alipay and WeChat Pay are third-party payment methods that are settled by commercial banks storing currency. There is a very small risk of bankruptcy and no legal compensation, so some users may not support Alipay or WeChat Pay. DCEP can also achieve offline payment with higher security and higher limit than Alipay and WeChat Pay.

If described in a blockchain-like language, DCEP is the underlying architecture of the first layer, and Alipay and WeChat Pay will become the second-layer applications.

The trend of digital fiat currency

In fact, the sense of smell of capital is always the most sensitive. Just last week, the digital currency sector of A-shares has moved unusually. Coupled with the frequent push of DCEP information last week, there are signs that the DCEP era has completely arrived.

Just a few days ago, the Bank for International Settlements released a report on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs): The Rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies: Drivers, Methods and Technologies.

The report mentioned that at least 36 central banks have carried out work on CBDC: nine countries and regions, including China, South Korea, and Sweden, are conducting or have completed digital currency pilots, and 18 central banks have published related research.

Among these 36 central banks, the People's Bank of China has undoubtedly made the fastest progress.

From the functions of the CCB digital currency wallet mentioned above, it can be seen that under the education of Alipay and WeChat, the use of DCEP can be almost seamlessly connected in China. The success of China's DCEP will become an example for other countries to follow, accelerating the research and promotion of CBDC.

Digital legal currency is an inevitable trend, and the DCEP era has arrived.