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China has added eight commercial banks to its digital yuan network, taking the number of authorized e-CNY operating institutions to 30 as the central bank widens access to its state-backed digital currency.
The network has tripled from 10 operators before the first 2026 expansion. The People’s Bank of China added 12 banks on April 2 before approving another eight this week.
Ping An and 7 Other Banks Join e-CNY Operator Network
The latest additions are Ping An Bank, Hengfeng Bank, China Bohai Bank, Bank of Shanghai, Bank of Hangzhou, Huishang Bank, Bank of Changsha and Guangxi Beibu Gulf Bank. Ping An, Hengfeng and China Bohai are national joint-stock commercial banks, while the remaining five are city commercial banks.
The PBOC said the institutions have been added as digital yuan operators and connected to the central-bank-side e-CNY system. They must still complete business and technical preparations before launching customer-facing services.
Operator Count Triples From 10 to 30 Since April
China entered April with 10 digital yuan operating institutions. The PBOC added 12 banks on April 2, including China CITIC Bank, China Everbright Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Bank of Ningbo and five other city commercial banks.
That first expansion raised the total to 22. The latest eight additions take the network to 30, three times its pre-April size.
The PBOC said it will continue expanding the operator network under market-oriented and rule-of-law principles to encourage competition and wider participation in the digital yuan system.
8 New Banks Must Complete Preparations Before Customer Launch
The banking expansion comes during a broader upgrade of China’s digital yuan infrastructure. Balances in eligible real-name e-CNY wallets at participating banks began earning interest on January 1 under the country’s new digital yuan framework.
China has also expanded cross-border infrastructure. The Digital RMB International Operations Center signed direct-participant service agreements with 26 financial institutions in Shanghai on June 16.
For the eight newly approved banks, the immediate next step is implementation. The PBOC has not announced individual dates for when they will begin offering digital yuan services to customers.
