Digital RMB launches Carbon Inclusive Mini Program, allowing green travel to directly redeem cash incentives

The ecological application of Digital Renminbi expands once again. The Digital Renminbi Operation and Management Center has launched the “Carbon Inclusive” mini-program within the Digital Renminbi App, initially available in Shanghai. This service allows everyday green travel behaviors to receive direct economic incentives for the first time. Users can earn carbon points through taking the subway, buses, or riding shared bikes, which can be directly exchanged for digital renminbi.

New Exploration of Green Incentives

The core mechanism of Carbon Inclusive

The “Carbon Inclusive” mini-program converts low-carbon behaviors into tangible economic value. Carbon points earned in the following scenarios will be automatically accumulated:

• Taking the subway or bus
• Riding shared bikes
• Other green low-carbon activities

The system automatically records these behaviors and accumulates points, which users can exchange for digital renminbi at any time. Compared to traditional “carbon trading markets,” this design is more convenient—ordinary users can receive economic rewards for green travel without complex trading processes.

Specific implementation of ecological cooperation

The mini-program initially connects with three major travel platforms:

After users link their accounts from these platforms within the Digital Renminbi App, the system will automatically recognize low-carbon travel behaviors and record points. This seamless data integration reduces the participation threshold for users.

Collaboration with Digital Renminbi 2.0 Upgrade

The timing of this feature’s launch is noteworthy. Just a week prior (January 1), Digital Renminbi was officially upgraded to version 2.0, with real-name wallet balances beginning to accrue interest based on demand deposits. The launch of the Carbon Inclusive mini-program further enriches the application scenarios and user value propositions of Digital Renminbi.

From the user perspective, Digital Renminbi now possesses a “triple value”:

• Payment tool: usable for daily consumption
• Savings tool: idle funds automatically accrue interest (currently at only 0.05%)
• Incentive tool: green travel can earn additional points for exchange

This multi-dimensional value design offers clear advantages over traditional electronic payment tools.

Considerations on Usage Thresholds

Before exchanging carbon points for digital renminbi, users need to complete two steps:

1. Activate a Digital Renminbi wallet
2. Upgrade to a real-name wallet

This requirement reflects the central bank’s emphasis on compliance. According to the latest regulatory policies, only real-name wallets can enjoy benefits such as interest accrual and point exchange. This is also a necessary measure to strengthen user identity verification and risk prevention.

Signals of Application Expansion

From a broader perspective, the Carbon Inclusive mini-program represents a new direction in the exploration of Digital Renminbi applications—evolving from a simple payment tool to a comprehensive digital financial instrument integrating incentives, governance, and public welfare functions.

According to relevant information, the central bank emphasized “steady advancement of Digital Renminbi” at the January work conference, and also included RWA (Real World Asset) tokenization into the compliance track. This indicates that in the future, Digital Renminbi may be more closely linked with real-world scenarios—carbon points, point exchanges, and similar functions are essentially practical applications of RWA.

Personal opinion: This mini-program may seem like a small feature, but it reflects a shift in the central bank’s thinking on the ecological design of Digital Renminbi—moving beyond just “payment substitution” to exploring the possibilities of “digital financial infrastructure.”

Future Highlights

The initial launch in Shanghai suggests potential for subsequent city expansions. As more cities join and more travel platforms are integrated, the Carbon Inclusive ecosystem is expected to generate greater network effects.

Meanwhile, this model could also extend to other fields—such as green consumption and low-carbon lifestyles—forming a more complete “green incentive system.”

Summary

The launch of the Carbon Inclusive mini-program for Digital Renminbi marks the evolution from a “payment tool” to an “ecological platform.” It not only provides direct economic rewards for green travel but also demonstrates the versatility of Digital Renminbi in complex application scenarios. Coupled with the interest accrual upgrade in version 2.0, the user value proposition of Digital Renminbi becomes more comprehensive—able to pay, save, and earn additional incentives through green behaviors. For the promotion of central bank digital currency, this multi-dimensional value design is more attractive than mere feature stacking.