Residents who received "red packets" of digital yuan use the money in stores in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. Photo: Li Hao/GT

 
Downloads of China's digital yuan wallet app had reached over 20 million as of Monday, following its debut two weeks ago, data from mobile app stores including Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo showed.

The rise in downloads came just ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which begin in February. The Olympic Games mark the first time that the central bank-backed sovereign digital currency will be available for international users. 

According to media reports, overseas users will be able to set passwords, top-up and find transaction details. 

China launched the beta version of the digital yuan app on January 4, and the app at one point topped the free app ranking list in Apple's App Store for the Chinese mainland.

The app supports payment with about 49 vendors and platforms, including JD.com, Meituan, Didi Chuxing, Baidu, Tmall supermarket, Tencent Video, SF Express, and the State Grid app. The payment scenarios cover shopping, travel and transportation.

The digital yuan is still in the testing phase of the development process and approved users in the 11 pilot areas and scenarios, including Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu and the Beijing Winter Olympic area, are allowed to register for the app.