Ecobank to Enable Direct Yuan Payments for Africa

For African businesses importing from China, the payment process has long been cumbersome and expensive, requiring multiple currency conversions from local currencies to dollars and then to yuan. This system incurs unnecessary fees and exchange rate risks, even when no U.S. entity is involved. Essentially, traders in Lagos and other African cities pay an invisible tax when purchasing goods from Guangzhou, a cost that benefits no one in the transaction.

Ecobank, a major financial institution active in over 30 nations across Africa, has reached an agreement to integrate with China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). The integration is anticipated to be finalized prior to the conclusion of 2026. Upon completion, clients of Ecobank will have the capability to conduct transactions with Chinese partners directly in yuan, thereby eliminating the need for dollar-based transfers and the associated costs and delays.

Direct Yuan Settlement

Jeremy Awori, Ecobank Group CEO, said, “We are looking at opportunities for us to settle with, instead of going through the dollar, we do it directly with the Chinese yuan.” This change is expected to simplify the payment process for African importers and reduce costs.

CIPS, China’s cross-border yuan payment clearing and settlement platform, was developed to enable banks to facilitate international money transfers, functioning analogously to SWIFT for dollar and euro transactions.

In 2024, CIPS facilitated cross-border yuan transactions worth RMB 175.49 trillion, marking a 43% year-over-year increase. The value of trade between China and Africa reached $348 billion in 2025, with Chinese exports to the continent growing by 25.8% to $225 billion. Despite China being Africa’s top trading partner for over 15 years, many payment channels for this trade still depend on dollar-based systems.

Growing Participation

Standard Bank of South Africa became the first African banking group authorized as a direct participant in CIPS, in June 2025, and launched the service in November. By July 2026, it had processed more than CNY 8 billion, about $1.2 billion, and had expanded yuan settlement from South Africa to Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzania.

Stanbic Bank Ghana became Ghana’s initial bank to provide direct CIPS access in 2026, while Banco de Fomento Angola is preparing to join. When Ecobank finalizes its integration, it will offer the broadest geographical coverage to the network. Ecobank’s operations span over 30 African nations, primarily in West and Central Africa, where ties to Chinese commerce are significant, and dollar-based banking infrastructure is limited and costly.

Once Ecobank’s CIPS connection is live, a trader in Lomé, a manufacturer in Accra, and an importer in Abidjan could all transact more cheaply through a single regional bank. This increased efficiency is expected to lower the cost of trade with China and improve the margins of African importers.

According to SWIFT’s Global Currency Tracker, in February 2026 the dollar accounted for 57.49% of global payment values, while the yuan represented 2.16% and ranked sixth. The dollar’s dominance is deeply entrenched and self-perpetuating, and payment system infrastructure changes are unlikely to challenge it in the near future or, likely, the medium term.

African banks joining CIPS are not trying to displace the dollar, but rather to lower the cost of trade with China by removing the need for dollar intermediation. This approach can be seen as cost management, applied selectively where the trade flows justify it, and not as ideology. The yuan’s relatively small share of global payments means that its growth in this context does not threaten the dollar’s global position.

Ecobank’s move to join CIPS is part of a broader shift in how African cross-border payments are being rebuilt. The African Union-backed Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, PAPSS, is reducing the need for dollar intermediation in intra-African trade by enabling local-currency payments across participating markets. The UAE has signed currency swap agreements with Egypt and Ethiopia, while China extended zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African countries with diplomatic relations from May 2026.

These moves share a common motive: to reduce the overhead costs associated with the current global payment system, which was built around the dollar and a small number of Western correspondent banks. As African economies increasingly trade with China, the Gulf, and each other, they are seeking more efficient cross-border payment infrastructure.

Broader Implications

Ecobank’s CIPS connection is expected to process a significant volume of cross-border RMB payments, contributing to the growth of CIPS. By mid-2026, CIPS had 210 direct and 1,619 indirect participants across 130 countries and regions, and its services could reach more than 5,200 banking institutions across 191 countries and territories. The completion of Ecobank’s CIPS connection will further expand the reach of CIPS in Africa.