The People's Bank of China. [File Photo: cn.bter.com]

The People's Bank of China (PBoC), also the central bank of China, is reportedly beefing up efforts to develop a digital currency system.

According to a report in the Beijing Youth Daily, in the future bank notes and digital money could be in circulation side by side.

As the country's central bank, the digital currency released by the PBoC will be legal currency and make use of special encrypted technology. The report says no date has been given for its release, and research is apparently still underway to develop a prototype.

The PBoC has reportedly been looking into creating such a currency since 2014, and has been studying its feasibility, key technologies and the problems it may face once in circulation. A seminar attended by experts from Citibank and Deloitte was organized by the PBoC in January to promote the study of digital currency and also to tap into foreign expertise in the field.

The Beijing Youth Daily says the PBoC is strengthening its research team, recruiting 6 IT experts to study digital currency technological, structure and encryption techniques.

Vice president of Science & Technology Department of PBoC, Yao Qian told reporters that the major tasks were to lower the cost of implementing the currency, and to make transactions more convenient and transparent. The digital currency will also help authorities crack down money laundering, tax avoidance and other financial crimes.

However, due to the complexities post by the size of China and its huge population, Yao added that the circulation of the digital currency in China will be a long process of constant exploration and improvement.