African businesses trading with China are set to gain faster and cheaper access to the world’s second-largest economy after China’s central bank authorised Africa’s largest lender to process yuan payments across 19 countries, marking another major step in Beijing’s efforts to deepen financial ties with the continent and expand the global use of its currency.
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has jointly authorised Standard Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to operate the Renminbi (RMB) Clearing Bank of Africa, giving businesses and financial institutions across the continent direct access to China’s onshore financial system for the first time.
The appointment makes Standard Bank, the largest bank in Africa by assets, the first African-headquartered lender to receive RMB clearing status, placing it at the centre of a new payment infrastructure designed to make trade between Africa and China faster, cheaper and more efficient.
The move effectively gives African financial institutions their first direct gateway into China’s domestic payment and liquidity system, allowing eligible cross-border transactions to be settled directly in yuan rather than routed through the US dollar.
