ICBC and Standard Bank, parent of Kenya's Stanbic, plan 24/7 yuan clearing and over RMB 10bn in interbank lines for Africa

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and South Africa's Standard Bank Group announced ten measures in Beijing on 19 October to widen the use of China's currency, the renminbi (RMB), in payments between China and Africa. The package includes a round-the-clock RMB payment and clearing network and more than RMB 10 billion in interbank financing lines for African banks.

China's state news agency China News Service and the Chinese business newspaper 21st Century Business Herald published the measures on 20 October. Standard Bank is the parent of Stanbic Bank Kenya, which went live on China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) on 31 July.

The package follows the People's Bank of China's authorisation, announced on 26 June, for ICBC and Standard Bank to clear RMB in Africa jointly. Standard Bank said at the time that it was "the first African based bank to receive this authorisation" and that the two banks would operate together as the Renminbi Clearing Bank of Africa, with operational capacity to clear RMB in 19 African countries. In November 2025 Standard Bank had become the first bank on the continent authorised to take part in CIPS.

CIPS is the system China runs for banks to send and settle renminbi payments across borders. A clearing bank is a bank authorised by China's central bank to settle RMB payments for banks in a region outside mainland China.

Under the joint arrangement, Standard Bank routes transfers between China and Africa through CIPS or ICBC's clearing system, and ICBC's overseas RMB clearing banks handle Standard Bank's RMB transfers in Asia and Europe. ICBC also supplies RMB liquidity, both onshore (in mainland China) and offshore. In foreign-exchange trading it uses a prime brokerage model, connecting Standard Bank with counterparties in onshore and offshore RMB markets.

The ten measures are grouped under three headings. To upgrade the clearing network, the banks will widen CIPS coverage among African institutions and use ICBC's clearing system to build an RMB payment and clearing network that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

To upgrade financing, they will expand panda bonds (RMB bonds sold in China by foreign borrowers), direct currency exchange and cross-border custody. They will set up an online channel for opening cross-border accounts in both directions between China and Africa, a platform for viewing and managing accounts held around the world, and RMB financing tailored to what Chinese and African companies need at each stage of their business.

Under the third heading, cooperation, the two banks will set up interbank financing lines of more than RMB 10 billion in Africa to provide RMB liquidity to African banks. An interbank financing line is the amount one bank agrees to lend another, up to a set limit. The banks will also publish a Guide to RMB Use in 19 African Countries, covering cross-border RMB policies, products and uses, and work through the BRICS Business Council and the Belt and Road interbank cooperation mechanism (BRBR) to help Chinese and African companies share in opportunities.

The banks said the aim is to make the renminbi a currency that Chinese and African companies are willing to use and find convenient and safe to use. ICBC said it would keep deepening its cooperation with Standard Bank and act as a "global financial partner" for Chinese and African firms.

The launch was attended by South Africa's ambassador to China, Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, officials of the People's Bank of China and China's commerce and foreign ministries, ICBC chairman Liao Lin and Standard Bank Group chief executive Sim Tshabalala. About 200 client representatives took part, including executives of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, Sany Group and MTN Group.

In Kenya, Stanbic Bank Kenya launched CIPS on 31 July at a China Day event in Nairobi held by Standard Bank and ICBC. "As businesses increasingly seek faster, more transparent and efficient ways to transact, our ability to process RMB payments through CIPS represents a significant milestone in strengthening the Kenya-China trade corridor," Jonathan Muga, head of corporate and investment banking at Stanbic Bank Kenya, said at the launch, as quoted by Xinhua. Guo Haiyan, China's ambassador to Kenya, said in her speech at the event that as China–Kenya economic and trade cooperation grows, businesses on both sides increasingly need efficient cross-border settlement and related financing. Liu Jia, deputy chief representative of ICBC's Africa representative office, said that with the joint efforts of ICBC and Standard Bank, Stanbic Bank Kenya had further improved RMB payment and clearing in East Africa and made cross-border RMB payments between China and Kenya more efficient.

A Xinhua roundup published on 20 October listed Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana and Namibia among the markets where Stanbic Bank connected to CIPS between late July and August. Bank of Kigali, Rwanda's largest commercial bank, announced in late September that it had become a direct CIPS participant.

China fully implemented zero-tariff treatment in May for the 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations. China–Africa trade grew 17.7 per cent year on year in 2025 to US$348 billion.

Bill Blackie, chief executive of business and commercial banking at Standard Bank Group, said in September that China's zero-tariff treatment was helping African businesses lower export costs and that growing RMB settlement capacity was making trade between Africa and China easier. He said Standard Bank provided RMB payment connectivity in 10 African markets, allowing some cross-border payments to settle within minutes rather than days.