TencentWeChat, China’s leading messaging service and largest payment provider, is now supporting its sovereign digital currency.

China has been working on the digital yuan since 2014It is still being rolled out nationally. The support of the digital currency by WeChat (which has more than 1 billion users) could give it a boost, if the people start to use it to pay.

Although WeChat is not well-known outside China, it’s ubiquitous within the second largest economy in the world. It is often dubbed a “super app”Many services can be incorporated into the app. You can also use WeChat Pay to make payments and send messages.

WeChat Pay allows you to present a barcode from your phone to merchants to purchase items in stores. You can use it to make online purchases. WeChat Pay boasts over 800 million monthly active customers.

The People’s Bank of China has issued the digital currency e-CNY or the digital Yuan to date. limited trials in certain cities via lotteriesWhere the central bank has given small amounts to certain citizens.

There are signs now that the PBOC wants to increase the use of the digital yuan even though there is no specific date. The following week: PBOC launched an e-CNY app for users in certain regions and cities in China. This will allow anyone living in the affected areas to sign up and download the digital currency. Users could previously get the app by invitation only.

WeChat, Alipay and Ant Group (an Alibaba affiliate) are the most popular mobile payment platforms in China. Alipay has also begun to accept digital Yuan payments last year. Alipay and WeChat could also be competitors for the digital currency’s mobile app.

The PBOC now has more opportunities to get citizens to use the cryptocurrency, as WeChat plans to bring the eCNY to them and Alipay to their ranks.

Chinese customers are so enslaved in Alipay and WeChat Pay that it is impossible for them to change to an alternative mobile payment method. It makes more sense for the central banks to work with WeChat Pay, Alipay, and not do it all on its own,” Linghao Bao from consultancy Trivium China told CNBC. 

This year’s Beijing Winter Olympics will see an increase in e-CNY use. The PBOC is aiming to have the digital yuan ready for the eventIn the Chinese capital.