Songjiang enables cross-border electricity bill payments with digital yuan

A Russian national residing in Shanghai's Songjiang district became the first expat in the Yangtze River Delta region to pay an electricity bill using digital yuan through a cross-border transaction on Dec 23.

The resident settled the bill at a local State Grid service hall with just a few taps on his mobile phone. With on-site guidance from a staff member, the entire process took only two minutes and required neither a Chinese bank card nor cash.

This seamless experience was enabled by a comprehensive digital yuan payment ecosystem covering payment, settlement, and financing, developed by the Songjiang Power Supply Company over more than two years.

Since 2023, the company has collaborated with several State-owned banks to pilot secure digital currency payment solutions and has taken the lead in achieving full-link integration across offline payment and collection scenarios.