In the payment field on June 18, there was a lot of important news.
Recently, the People’s Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments jointly issued the “Action Plan for the Development of Offshore Finance in Shanghai International Financial Center”.
The plan proposes to rely on the digital renminbi international operation center to build and operate digital renminbi cross-border, offshore and blockchain infrastructure under safe and controllable conditions, steadily promote interconnection with overseas financial infrastructure, and steadily promote the application and scenario expansion of digital renminbi in offshore business.
This move undoubtedly injects new impetus into the international development of digital renminbi.
On June 17, Wang Xin, Director (Director) of the Research Bureau (Counselor’s Office) of the People’s Bank of China, said that the application value of stablecoins in the field of cross-border payments, regulatory rules and international coordination mechanisms, as well as the prospects for cross-border application of central bank digital currencies, all require continuous follow-up research and strengthened policy coordination.
In the future, all parties need to jointly maintain the safe, neutral and efficient operation of the cross-border payment system, promote the interconnection of the central bank payment system and the retail payment system; prudently and steadily explore the application potential of new payment tools, continue to study and judge the impact of stable coins on the international monetary system and the cross-border payment pattern, and improve supporting regulatory rules.
Recently, the People’s Bank of China released the latest balance sheet of the monetary authorities.
Data show that as of May 2026, deposits (provisions) of non-financial institutions were 2.578862 billion yuan, an increase of 14.004 billion yuan from the previous month.
Changes in this data reflect the dynamic development of the payments market.
On June 17, WeChat Pay officially released the “AI Exclusive Card”, and WorkBuddy became the first intelligent agent to access this function.
Relying on the implementation of this capability, users only need to describe their consumption needs through text or voice, and can complete the entire process of restaurant search, discount collection, ordering and payment with one click.
The AI exclusive card can be understood as a “small wallet” specially reserved for AI, which brings new changes to the user’s payment experience.
Yiwu Pay and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, under the guidance and support of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China, officially released the “Digital RMB Cross-border E-commerce Payment Solution.”
By introducing the digital RMB umbrella wallet system, Yipay provides merchants with a more standardized and transparent fund management method, making the transaction flow clearer, the process more traceable, and the risks more controllable.
Recently, PayPal China has experienced changes in executive personnel. The former China CEO Qiu Han has resigned, and the former China legal director Zhang Hong has taken over as CEO.
Qiu Han has been the CEO of PayPal China since August 2020. On May 27 this year, she also attended a public event as PayPal’s global senior vice president and CEO of PayPal China.
The “2025 Sustainability Report” released by Ant Group shows that “touch” payment has covered 2,200 segmented scenarios such as ordering food and traveling, connected to more than 20 million merchants, and served 300 million users, making daily consumption more efficient and making the payment process easier for special groups such as the elderly and the visually impaired.
On June 17, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) issued new regulations for the reform of the payment system. In order to implement the relevant requirements of the Oman royal family to optimize financial services, starting from July 1, 2026, all local digital fund transfers for domestic retail customers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be exempted from handling fees.
The implementation of this policy will have a positive impact on Oman’s payment market.
