China Authorizes Standard Bank and ICBC for RMB Clearing in Africa

On 26 June 2026, China’s Central Bank — the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) — announced that it had authorized Standard Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to provide cross-border RMB Clearing for Africa. It is worth noting that ICBC holds about 20% in the South African Standard Bank Group.

Currently, Standard Bank is present in 20 countries across Africa, and thus, the #RMB Clearing will become available in these geographies. The Standard Bank Group is Africa’s largest banking group by assets and its services span commercial banking, investment banking and life insurance.

Previously, the Bank of China (BoC) was the only other bank authorized for RMB Clearing services in Africa. At the time of reporting, BoC has 5 branches and 3 representative offices in Africa, with plans to expand its network.

The move is seen as an acceleration of the #dedollarization drive as it will allow more transactions between China and Africa to be undertaken in RMB without resorting to the USD. Concurrently, China is pushing its own international payment system known as the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (#CIPS), as an alternative to the Western-controlled Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (#SWIFT) system.

In 2025, the trade volume between China and Africa reached USD 348 billion, clocking a robust 18% year-on-year increase. The volume is projected to surpass the 400-billion mark within a few years. The growth is expected to remain robust as long as global trade issues persist, with China reorienting trade from US and EU into Africa due to higher #tariffs from these advanced economies.