China is bolstering its cross-border payment systems in a push to advance the yuan’s role in global finance.
The People’s Bank of China’s (PBC) Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) now connects over 1,700 institutions across 189 countries, processing 175 trillion yuan ($24.55 trillion) last year, reports the state-owned Global Times.
That represents a 43% surge from the prior year, with CIPS transaction volumes growing 40.3% each year since 2021.
PBC has integrated CIPS with the digital yuan and expanded overseas bank branches and in June, China and Hong Kong linked their fast payment systems to streamline cross-border remittances.
Inbound mobile payments have also jumped according to the Global Times, with 10 million foreign users in the first half of 2025 and transactions up 162%.
China is driving the economic alliance BRICS and its efforts to develop independent payment infrastructures like CIPS, which has signed settlement agreements with over 40 nations to reduce US dollar dependence and counter sanctions.
BRICS is also developing its own cross-border payment initiatives, including the BRICS Pay system and the BRICS Cross-Border Payment Initiative (BCBPI), aimed at facilitating settlements in local currencies among member states.
These efforts operate separately from China’s CIPS, though some overlap exists in promoting independence from the dollar.
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