China is reportedly taking great strides in growing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, via debuting digital yuan payments for transport services.

Specifically, the Beijing subway has reportedly kickstarted a pilot initiative, setting up an access gateway into 24 subway lines and four suburban railway stations for passengers, via utilizing digital yuan – e-CNY.

The new offering will reportedly be exclusively rolled out to customers – who already registered a bank account at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China – a top-tier bank taking part in China’s CBDC tests.

“You need to download a mobile app that is linked with your bank account to access the service” A Beijing rail transit network representative reportedly disclosed. 

Beijing rail transit service providers will reportedly carry on with their promotion of diverse applications of the digital yuan, in an effort to achieve optimization for the “new digital travel experience.”

The development reportedly surfaced not long after Suzhou, a city in East China’s Jiangsu province, rolled out a digital yuan integration of the same kind. Suzhou was the pioneering urban area in the nation to add e-CNY to the list of payments for subway rides.

Beijing has reportedly been a key geological area facilitating China’s digital yuan pilot tests, hosting a vast range of e-CNY integrations and associated projects.

As of mid-June, Beijing has reportedly supported the installment of over  3,000 digital yuan-enabled ATMs, making it possible for depositing and withdrawing the general audience for the cryptocurrency.