BOFIT Weekly Review 2015/26
Preparing for the rollout of the China International Payments System (CIPS)
The People’s Bank of China reports that its new international payments processing system is now ready and should be in regular use by the end of this year. CIPS facilitates yuan-denominated payments and allows direct clearing of yuan payments to and from China. CIPS operates in a manner similar to e.g. the TARGET system used for euro payments. CIPS allows foreign firms to make payments to China directly from their own bank accounts. The new system is in trial use in 20 banks.
Currently, only PBoC-designated clearing banks can process international yuan payments. All of China’s 15 designated clearing banks are subsidiaries of large state-controlled banks. CIPS allows foreign banks to engage in processing of yuan payments through a direct connection between CIPS and the bank.
Clearing of payments in yuan at the national level is already done with the China National Payments System (CNAPS). CIPS apparently will operate in parallel with CNAPS. CNAPS will also be brought into compliance with international standards.
CIPS has been designed in accordance with SWIFT standards and supports both Chinese and English languages. CIPS can process yuan payments for such purposes as foreign trade or direct investment. As with many other reforms in China, the rollout will involve several phases. In the first phase, the central bank says the system will be available 11 hours a day to allow processing of payments to Asia, Europe and Oceania.
The international payments clearing system has been under construction since 2012. It was originally scheduled for kick-off last year, but the launch was delayed due to technical issues. CIPS represents another step by China towards full international acceptance of the yuan.