South Korean merchants open to accepting digital yuan

According to the South Korean media, the local merchants could accept the upcoming digital yuan as a payment method after the Coronavirus outbreak passes and Chinese tourist flow restores in the country.

An article from Yonhap highlights the increasing interest of South Korean merchants in accepting digital yuan once it’s launched https://t.co/oWc4dl4L7e

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) June 10, 2020

According to a news agency, local merchants have been increasingly taking advantage of China’s upcoming digital currency, referring to some tourist shops in their examples.

As per reports, in Seoul’s Myeongdong district, some stores have been receiving payments using Alipay, thus developing interest in consumers from China.

Reports depict that the Coronavirus calamity has caused damages to about $2 billion in tourism income. Due in part to this fact, merchants have started considering the digital yuan as a payment method as soon as it launches.

However, the article warned about accepting digital yuan as a method of payment. They quote privacy issues and the oversight of “Big Brother”:

“If people from other countries make widespread use of the ‘digital yuan,’ centrally managed by the People’s Bank of China, it is likely that the user will be exposed to Chinese authorities.”

The author states that the Chinese digital currency has a “completely different philosophical and technological base from blockchain-based bitcoin (BTC) technology.”

In April, screenshots of a supposed pilot version of a wallet app for China’s upcoming digital yuan were circulating on social media. The application was being tested in four Chinese cities.

On May 6, the Former People’s Bank of China President, Li Lihui, stated that the launch of the digital yuan could indeed replace money if critical conditions are met.