SHENZHEN - The southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen, the country's first pilot city for its digital fiat currency, had opened 35.94 million e-CNY wallets by the end of June, 7.6 million more than the number recorded at the beginning of the year.

Currently, more than 2.1 million businesses in the city accept digital Renminbi (RMB) payment, according to the city's central branch of the People's Bank of China.

Shenzhen has essentially covered six major fields in its application of e-CNY, including daily consumption in most of its shopping malls, chain supermarkets, restaurants and hotels, utility bills, commuter costs by bus and subway, and parking and refueling fees.

In July, Shenzhen issued a work plan, proposing to team-up with Hong Kong to carry out a pilot cross-border RMB settlement. Its Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone will also be built into a demonstration zone for such cross-border e-CNY applications, according to the document.