China's digital RMB network grows to 30 banks as second-tier model matures
Key points
- The People's Bank of China has added eight banks, predominantly regional institutions, bringing total digital RMB supporting banks to 30.
- Participation has tripled in roughly twelve months, rising from 10 banks a year ago to 22 in March 2026 and now 30.
- Since the start of 2026, the digital RMB is legally structured as a digital bank deposit rather than a central bank digital currency, making it a liability of the issuing commercial bank rather than the government.
- Participating banks are permitted to pay interest on digital RMB deposits, a feature unavailable under the prior CBDC design.
- The People's Bank of China stated it will continue expanding the number of supporting banks in an orderly fashion guided by market-oriented principles.
The People’s Bank of China has expanded the roster of institutions supporting its digital renminbi to 30, up from 22 in March and 10 a year ago. The latest addition of eight banks consists mainly of regional institutions, and the central bank signalled it will continue broadening participation in an orderly, market-oriented manner.
The structural context matters as much as the headcount: since the start of 2026, the digital RMB has been reclassified from a central bank digital currency into a digital bank deposit. Under the current design, the central bank retains a coordinating role and operates part of the infrastructure, but the digital currency now sits as a liability of whichever commercial bank holds it, not of the government. Wallets are bank-supplied, and participating institutions are free to offer interest on the balances.
The shift from 10 to 30 banks inside twelve months, combined with the liability-structure change, suggests Beijing is deliberately pushing the digital RMB toward commercial banking norms rather than maintaining a state-issued monetary instrument. Regional bank inclusion widens geographic reach while distributing both the operational load and the balance-sheet exposure across more institutions. The question operators should carry is how quickly the interest-bearing feature and the expanded network translate into measurable deposit migration or new payment flows.