Africa’s largest lender by assets, Standard Bank, said it processed more than 8 billion Yuan (about US$1.2 billion) in renminbi transactions through China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) during its first year of direct access to the network, as trade between China and Africa continues to grow.
- •The bank became the first African lender authorised for direct CIPS participation in November 2025.
- •The service is now available across South Africa, Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzania, giving businesses in those markets a route to settle cross-border transactions with China directly in yuan rather than through an intermediary currency such as the US dollar.
- •Standard Bank found that businesses across ten African markets are increasingly favouring Asian trading partners, with China being cited as the leading source of imports by 67% of businesses who pointed to competitive pricing, product variety, and reliable supply chains as the main reasons.
“Standard Bank is focused on expanding CIPS access across Africa, unlocking more efficient cross-border transactions and deepening trade corridors for our clients. As part of this commitment, we plan to extend CIPS access to more African countries by the end of 2026, further strengthening Africa-China trade connectivity,” said Standard Bank’s Head of Payments for Corporate and Investment Banking, Ontiretse Modise.
According to China’s General Administration of Customs, China-Africa trade reached approximately US$158.3 billion in the first six months of 2026, up 19.6% from the same period a year earlier, with African exports to China rising 22.1% and Chinese exports to Africa up 17.3%.
Part of that growth follows Beijing’s decision to extend zero-tariff treatment, effective May this year, to imports from all African countries except Eswatini, which maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Chinese customs authorities have also introduced expedited clearance procedures for African agricultural exports and expanded mutual recognition of sanitary certifications, measures officials say are intended to reduce bottlenecks for perishable goods such as fruit and meat.
Kenya’s trade data reflect a similar shift as imports from China posted the largest increase in value of any single trading partner, up 29.2% and adding roughly KSh43.4 billion, according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data.
Africa’s First Yuan Clearing Bank
Standard Bank’s CIPS access has since been followed by a further step. In June 2026, the People’s Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) jointly authorised Standard Bank to operate as the “Renminbi Clearing Bank of Africa,” making it the first Africa-based lender to hold clearing status of this kind.
Operating jointly with ICBC, the clearing arrangement will have capacity to clear renminbi transactions across 19 African countries, giving participating institutions direct access to China’s onshore financial system including its payment infrastructure, liquidity facilities, and capital markets.
The scale of that access remains modest relative to global RMB clearing volumes as CIPS processed a total of US$26 trillion in transactions across 2025, according to the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum’s Global Public Investor 2026 survey, against US$526 trillion processed by the US-based Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS) over the same period.
China keeps the yuan inside a managed band set daily by the People’s Bank of China and restricts capital flows in and out of the country, while the dollar floats freely with capital moving largely unimpeded. Beijing maintains these controls to preserve its grip on domestic credit conditions and shield the financial system from volatile capital flight that hit other emerging markets amid rapid liberalization.
While the US dollar remains a premium reserve currency for global trade, many African economies face chronic greenback shortages that can affect their ability to sustain imports. Settling directly in yuan lets African businesses pay for Chinese goods or sell commodities to China without first hunting for scarce forex reserves.
