The new generation of digital RMB is here! On December 29th, it was learned from the People's Bank of China that the measurement framework, management system, operation mechanism, and ecosystem of the new generation of digital RMB will be officially launched and implemented from January 1st next year. The most prominent change among them is that digital RMB can now pay interest! Based on years of experience in research and development pilot projects, the People's Bank of China has issued the "Action Plan for Further Strengthening the Management Service System and Related Financial Infrastructure Construction of Digital RMB". The plan clearly states from a mechanism perspective that digital RMB will transition from the era of digital cash to the era of digital deposit currency. From digital cash to digital deposit currency, this change brings obvious benefits - the action plan is clear, and banking institutions will calculate interest on customers' real name digital RMB wallet balances and comply with the self-discipline agreement on deposit interest rate pricing. Don't underestimate this step taken, as it is a comprehensive adjustment of the digital RMB from the measurement framework to the management system, from the operating mechanism to the ecosystem. Before the adjustment, digital RMB was mainly positioned as cash and will be included in the circulation currency (M0) statistical caliber from 2023. Cash is mostly used for small payments, making it difficult to generate money. Only by depositing money in the bank and then lending it to individuals, businesses, etc., can the loan be converted into personal wages or income and deposited back into the bank. The bank then lends these deposits back to the enterprise... Only by continuously converting loans and deposits into each other can money play multiple roles. After the digital RMB is converted into a digital deposit currency, it will greatly improve the liquidity of the digital RMB in the banking system. ”Liu Xiaochun, Vice President of Shanghai New Financial Research Institute, said. The plan is clear that the digital RMB in the customer's commercial bank wallet is a commercial bank liability based on the account. Generally speaking, cash is a liability of the central bank, while deposits are a liability of commercial banks. A professional gave the journalist an analogy: if you have 100 yuan of digital RMB cash, then the central bank owes you 100 yuan; If you have a deposit of 100 yuan in digital RMB, then the commercial bank owes you 100 yuan. Putting 100 yuan in cash at home does not earn interest, but depositing it in the bank does earn interest. The transformation of digital RMB from a central bank liability to a commercial bank liability marks the transition of digital RMB from cash based version 1.0 to deposit based currency based version 2.0. Commercial banks are the main operators of digital wallet opening, scenario development, and technical maintenance, and bear direct responsibility for the security, reliability, and continuity of digital RMB circulation. The realization of unified rights and responsibilities of commercial banks is an important upgrade of digital RMB. ”According to Guan Tao, Chief Economist of Bank of China Securities, after digital RMB becomes a liability for commercial banks, commercial banks will have more motivation to provide more financial services around digital RMB. What significant changes will there be in the user experience of converting digital RMB into deposits? In terms of payment experience, there won't be any changes, and the feature of controllable anonymity won't change either. It's just that it can be used as a deposit to earn interest. ”Liu Xiaochun said that opening a digital RMB wallet does not require complete real name authentication, but accounts without real name authentication also cannot receive deposit interest calculation. How can the upgraded digital RMB better ensure property security? According to relevant arrangements, the digital RMB is provided with technical support and supervision by the central bank. Commercial banks are responsible for the security of customers' digital RMB, assuming corresponding compliance and anti money laundering responsibilities, and being included in the scope of deposit insurance. The maximum repayment limit of deposit insurance is RMB 500000. For non bank payment institutions, the digital RMB they provide to customers is exchanged by customers with their own bank deposits, which constitutes a liability of non bank payment institutions and is subject to digital RMB margin supervision in accordance with the law. Non bank payment institutions participating in the operation of digital RMB will implement 100% digital RMB margin. The People's Bank of China has been researching legal digital currencies since 2014. Currently, the trial promotion of domestic and cross-border digital RMB has achieved positive results, and has been implemented in various scenarios such as wholesale and retail, catering and tourism, education and healthcare, public services, social governance, rural revitalization, and cross-border settlement. Data shows that as of the end of November 2025, the digital RMB has processed a total of 3.48 billion transactions, with a cumulative transaction amount of 1.67 trillion yuan. 230 million personal wallets have been opened through the digital RMB app, and 18.84 million digital RMB unit wallets have been opened. The multilateral central bank digital currency bridge has processed a total of 4047 cross-border payment transactions, with a cumulative transaction amount equivalent to RMB 387.2 billion. Among them, digital RMB accounts for about 95.3% of the transaction amount in various currencies. Standing at a new starting point, the digital RMB is based on a dual layer operation system of "central bank commercial institutions", which will steadily promote the steady transition of digital cash and electronic payments towards digital currency and digital payments, and strive to inject technological power into the realization of a "powerful currency", consolidating the cornerstone of building a strong financial country. (New Society)