China’s society is going cashless. Now its central bank is pushing back

China is fast becoming one of the most cashless societies in the world, fueled by the rise of dominant fintech platforms like Tencent’s WeChat Pay and Alibaba’s Alipay. But its reliance on digital tools for daily tasks only intensified during the pandemic, leaving behind tens of millions of people who lack the access or knowhow to navigate China’s Internet-based economy.