China adopting digitization fast, cash disappeared

The rapid digitization in China is accompanied by the fact that cash in everyday life hardly plays a role anymore. This increasingly also leads to conflicts between the economy and the state institutions.

All only use apps

“Almost everyone uses the apps under 80. Only for the very old do I take cash,” quotes the French newspaper Le monde The market dealer Ma Dian, which offers its goods for his goods on the Xinmin market in the heart of Beijings. A serious change has taken place in this regard within the past ten years – which often depends on the elderly. And this is not just on the market. In everyday life in China, almost all payments are handled via apps such as Wechat or Alipay. Whether supermarket, taxi or street sales – hardly anything works without a QR code. Cash is no longer accepted in many places, and even small companies often do without a classic cash register.

This also likes to bring foreign visitors into problems. Because if you don’t prepare for the situation, you often have problems getting from the airport to the actual destination. After all, for example, the taxi is not only paid digitally, but also ordered by app. The problem with this: Of course, the widespread western online payment services cannot usually be used in China.

Economy vs. state

The shift in usage behavior even has a conflict about power, it said. The supremacy of Wechat (originally a social network) and Alipay (from e-commerce giant Alibaba) has pushed traditional banks to the brim. The Chinese state banks in particular lose increasingly influence on payment transactions. In order to counteract, the central bank developed the digital Yuan (e-Cny). Despite pilot projects and millions opened accounts, his use in everyday life remains low.

And the former head of the project, Yao Qian, was arrested in 2024 due to suspicion of corruption – ironically, he is said to have veiled bribes in cryptocurrencies. The struggle for control over China’s financial system is thus increasingly becoming a political power game between the large and financially strong Tech companies and the government in Beijing, in which the citizens coordinate with their feet. How this will ultimately end in an authoritarian state is completely open.