(1 February 2017 – China) The popularity of China’s renminbi for international payments has waned over 2016, new data reveals.
Payments processor SWIFT said that the value of international payments made in yuan declined 29.5 percent in 2016, while the share of international payments held by yuan dropped to 1.68 percent, a decline of 0.63 percent.
The Canadian dollar re-took the yuan as the fifth-most used currency on the planet in 2016.
SWIFT cites the slowdown in China’s economic growth and volatility of the yuan exchange rate, as well as recent regulations controlling capital outflows, have contributed to the trend.
“Yuan internationalisation will continue to benefit from major financial infrastructure milestones, such as the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System and additional yuan offshore clearing centers,” explained Michael Moon, head of SWIFT’s Asia-Pacific payments markets department.
China launched its cross-border yuan payments system in 2015 in an effort to promote the use of the currency across the globe at a faster and more affordable rate.