BEIJING, April 2 (Reuters) - China's central bank has expanded its digital yuan programme by adding a dozen additional ‌banks as operators, confirming a Reuters report last ‌month.

The 12 new banks allowed to handle the digital yuan include China ​CITIC Bank, China Everbright Bank, China Guangfa Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, among others, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement.

The move aims to "enhance the inclusiveness of digital ‌yuan services" and meet ⁠the public demand for "safe, convenient and efficient" payment options, the bank said.

Thursday's announcement takes the ⁠total number of authorised banks to handle the digital yuan to 22.

Beijing's push to put the digital yuan into the ​real economy ​has been slow so far ​since its launch in ‌2019, with most retail customers already able to make safe and low-cost transactions via platforms such as Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent Holdings' WeChat Pay.

The strategy comes alongside China's intensifying crackdown on virtual currencies and a ban on stablecoins that ‌highlights the contrast to the U.S., ​where President Donald Trump has ​promoted cryptocurrencies and banned ​a digital dollar.

"The central bank will continue ‌to expand the number of operating ​institutions in ​an orderly manner in accordance with market-oriented and rule-of-law principles," the PBOC said, adding that it seeks to ​build an "open, inclusive ‌and fair competitive environment" for the digital currency's development.

(Reporting ​by Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo, Editing by ​William Maclean and Arun Koyyur)