Use of the renminbi for payments transaction is becoming more popular around the world, although the vast majority are still conducted in Hong Kong, according to SWIFT’s RMB tracker.
In February 2013, 83 percent of RMB transactions were processed in China and Hong Kong, and 17 percent in the rest of the world. In February 2015, 75 percent of payments were conducted in Hong Kong and China, and 25 percent elsewhere.
After Hong Kong, Singapore and London process the largest percentage of RMB payments, representing 6.17 percent and 5.71 percent of payments, respectively.
Conversely, payments transactions in China represent only 3 percent of the total worldwide.
The number of offshore RMB clearing centres has also increased, with new centres appearing in Bangkok, Seoul, Frankfurt and, most recently, Sydney.
In February 2015, the renminbi fell to number 7 of the world’s payments currencies, with 1.18 percent of all global transactions conducted in RMB, about a 20 percent decrease from January 2015.
This dip has been attributed to seasonal factors, including the effect of the Chinese New Year and the fact that February is a short month. Across all global currencies, payments decreased by 9.3 percent.
Michael Moon, SWIFT’s head of payments for the Asia-Pacific region, said: “The use of RMB by more countries, beyond Hong Kong, is a good testimony of the internationalisation of the Chinese currency.”
He added: “The global volume of payments in RMB will fluctuate, and is actually down by value compared to last month, but the broader support by more countries beyond Hong Kong, underlining its international use, suggests the potential for future clearing centres and further development of the currency.”
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