Lu Lei: The Action Plan, which will be implemented on January 1, 2026, clearly states that the balance in a digital RMB wallet will accrue interest.

PANews reported on December 29th, citing the Financial Times, that Lu Lei, Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China, stated that within the "two-tier architecture," the "Action Plan on Further Strengthening the Management and Service System and Related Financial Infrastructure Construction of Digital RMB" clarifies that banking institutions will pay interest on the balance of customers' real-name digital RMB wallets and comply with the self-regulatory agreement on deposit interest rate pricing. This arrangement, based on the principle of substance over form, has initially formed a compatible incentive arrangement. Therefore, banks can independently conduct asset and liability management of their digital RMB wallet balances, with deposit insurance providing the same security guarantees as deposits in accordance with the law. For non-bank payment institutions, there is no difference between digital RMB margin and customer reserve funds.

According to previous reports , the People's Bank of China will issue the "Action Plan on Further Strengthening the Management and Service System and Related Financial Infrastructure Construction of Digital RMB". The new generation of digital RMB measurement framework, management system, operation mechanism and ecosystem will be officially launched and implemented on January 1, 2026.