The two sessions focus on the topic of "cashless era", and blockchain has a long way to go

As the two sessions are in full swing, the discussion of the "cashless era" has become a hot topic. As a bus driver who has been driving buses in Hangzhou for 28 years, Yu Chun is also a National People's Congress representative at this year's two sessions. She told the media that this year she will propose to strongly support the construction of a cashless society at the national level, taking the opening of "Internet +" government affairs as the entry point, so that public services, social security and other scenes around every citizen can achieve cashless services. "This is an irresistible trend of the times." She said.

When buying a can of Coke from a vending machine on the street, you have become accustomed to taking out your phone to scan the QR code; when you meet children during the New Year, you also start to get used to entering a password on your phone and putting it in a red envelope; when the uncle selling roasted sweet potatoes downstairs from your house has also opened mobile transfer... After a long silence, you suddenly remember, how long has it been since the cash in your wallet exceeded 500 yuan?

Back when card payment started to become popular around the world, credit cards and debit cards made the cash in people's wallets seem so redundant. In recent years, payment methods such as WeChat and Alipay have shown a strong momentum to replace card payment. In fact, this is also due to the Internet giants' unremitting offensive. From the young to the old, everyone has become very familiar with these more convenient electronic payments.

In order to promote its mobile payment, Alipay has carried out a "three-dimensional" promotion, from discounts to rebates, from billboards to press conferences, and even from the ground to the sky, finally realizing the scenario of most people in first- and second-tier cities "going out without money"; in order to promote its own wallet, WeChat has refreshed various forms of red envelope functions every year, and has also occupied a place in the field of mobile payment; Apple's mobile payment Apple Pay also set off a "pretentious" craze.

As the total amount of non-cash transactions continues to rise, people have become numb to the popularity of mobile payments. However, iResearch released a report this month saying that the scale of mobile payments in China has far exceeded that of the United States, nearly 50 times that of the United States. KPMG's previously released "Global Consumption and Convergence Survey Report" showed that 66% of global respondents were willing to use mobile wallet services, while the rate in China was as high as 84% ​​- perhaps you will be surprised that China has easily reached the highest point in the world.

There are more high-end ones. Just entering 2017, the central bank has set off new enthusiasm from all walks of life with a digital currency plan - in February, the blockchain-based digital bill trading platform promoted by the central bank was successfully tested, and the legal digital currency issued by the central bank has been trial-run on the platform. After the Spring Festival, the digital currency research institute under the central bank will also be officially listed... Could it be that the People's Bank of China has accidentally become a "pioneer" in digital currency research worldwide?

However, many people are still confused about what digital currency is. Is blockchain just a gimmick? Will the "paper money era" really come to an end? (Yan Yuxin/Text)

————————-Dry Goods Warning Line————————-

Q1What is digital currency?

A: In short, digital currency is the complete digitization of legal currency, issued by the state, and involves a variety of technologies such as distributed architecture, cryptographic technology, security chips, mobile payments, and trusted computing.

It is worth noting that central bank officials have repeatedly stressed that digital currency is not a virtual currency represented by Bitcoin, and virtual currency cannot replace or partially replace legal currency. Many industry insiders believe that the promotion of digital currency is a global trend because it is less expensive and regulators can more clearly understand and track the specific flow of funds in the economy, which is exactly what traditional currency does not have.

Q2How does it differ from electronic currency?

A: Electronic currency refers to financial data of equal value obtained by exchanging cash. These financial data can be paid to the transaction party through various electronic means to complete transactions or repay debts, etc.

In other words, electronic money is a kind of financial credit stored in a device in electronic form. People deposit money in a bank and then use online banking to pay. This is actually the most common way to convert traditional currency into electronic money. In addition, it also includes bus cards, bank cards, store stored value cards, etc. that use media to store the value of currency, and electronic cash such as WeChat red envelopes and Alipay balances that are used in an online environment.

Q3 When I was young and frivolous, I charged a lot of Q coins. Is it electronic currency?

A: Q coins are not electronic money, but a kind of virtual currency. Electronic money is equivalent financial data exchanged from the currency issuer, and is a general equivalent that can flow out or in. Internet currencies such as Q coins are actually commodities sold by merchants to users, which basically cannot be exchanged for cash and cannot be circulated in both directions. They can usually only be exchanged for goods or services on their own platforms and cannot be traded elsewhere. They do not have the characteristics of a general equivalent of currency.

Q4: What is the relationship between blockchain, which was mentioned in the 13th Five-Year National Information Plan, and digital currency?

A: Blockchain is a technology that is currently used in digital currencies and other areas. The advantage of blockchain is that it does not require a third-party intermediary, the process is transparent and efficient, and data security is guaranteed, so other industries can apply blockchain technology if they have a demand for it.

Q5 I never carry cash when I go out now. Does that mean we can stop issuing paper money in the future and just use digital currency?

A: Digital currency has many advantages: First of all, as far as we are concerned, there will be no crime problems such as theft and robbery. Without traditional currency, we will not encounter counterfeit currency. Illegal transactions, tax evasion, corruption, etc. will be curbed.

For banks, it reduces the cost of issuing currency and managing cash, and is also beneficial to the circulation of economic and trade funds. Now, electronic remittance services like MoneyGram are faster and cheaper than traditional cross-border fund transfer services.

For the government, the use of digital currency makes it easier to collect macro data and adjust interest rate policies.

In the international community, the use of digital currency means that currency will only rise and fall with the circulation of goods. The wealth of future society will also be disrupted and reorganized, and there will no longer be a situation like the Bretton Woods system that led to the dominance of the US dollar. The world's decentralization and flat organization have effectively solved the many contradictions caused by using a country's sovereign currency as an international currency.

However, there are some shortcomings, such as insufficient coverage, which is a considerable cost for merchants; in addition, electronic money generally relies on various smart devices, which may lead to the situation that the poor cannot use it, the elderly cannot use it, and the disabled are not easy to use. As for whether the future will be a "cashless society", it is difficult to make a conclusion now.

(Compiled by Yu Yang)