Beijing is China's 'smartest city'

Beijing is the "smartest" city in China, according to a report on the cashless society released on Monday.

The report, jointly published by Chinese tech giant Tencent, the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, and French market research firm Ipsos, used indexes like transportation, education, shopping and food delivery to measure "smart cities" level in 324 Chinese cities.

Overall, Beijing ranked first in the penetration of a cashless society, followed by Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai, Xinhua news agency reported.

Dongguan and Foshan ranked sixth and tenth, respectively.

The report also showed that 40 per cent of Chinese carry less than 100 yuan ($15) in cash when going out, while 52 per cent use cash for 20 per cent of their total monthly consumption.

Over 70 per cent respondents said they could live more than a week with only 100 yuan in cash, and 84 per cent were "comfortable" going out with only mobile phones, no cash.

The report was part of a week-long celebration of WeChat's annual "Cashless Day" on August 8.

"Cashless Day" aims to promote a green, fashionable and efficient lifestyle.

Even though a completely cashless society is unlikely to happen, a new age of smart life has already arrived, according to WeChat, China's largest social media company.

--IANS

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