China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) expanded to 193 direct participants and 1,573 indirect participants across 124 countries by late 2025, processing approximately 180 trillion yuan - up from 175.49 trillion yuan in 2024 and 123.06 trillion yuan in 2023.
Africa Connection
Standard Bank became the first authorized bank in Africa to offer direct CIPS transactions in September 2025, opening a major new corridor for yuan-denominated trade settlement across the continent. Standard Bank operates in 20 African countries and is the continent's largest bank by assets.
Growth Trajectory
CIPS network grew by 23 direct participants in roughly one year. However, annual volume growth has decelerated to approximately 3% year-over-year (2024 to 2025), compared to 43% growth between 2023 and 2024 - suggesting the rapid catch-up phase may be maturing into steady-state growth.
Policy Context
PBoC raised the cross-border yuan trade floor ratio to 40% from 25% in May 2025, effectively mandating that China's largest banks settle nearly half their trade finance in yuan rather than USD. Combined with active promotion of yuan borrowing abroad, this represents a systematic acceleration of yuan internationalization infrastructure.
What This Means
For payments professionals managing CNY corridors, CIPS's expanding direct participation base reduces the need for USD-intermediated settlement for China trade flows. The Africa corridor via Standard Bank is commercially significant given China's position as the continent's largest trading partner.
Sources: Finextra, The Paypers