(3 June 2015 – Asia) The renminbi (RMB) has ranked number one in Asia Pacific for payments with Greater China, according to SWIFT.
On average, 31 percent of payments in Asia Pacific with China and Hong Kong are now made in RMB, up from 7 percent in April 2012, according to SWIFT’s RMB Tracker.
This growth is driven by the increase of RMB usage in most Asian countries to trade directly with China and Hong Kong.
Over three years, most Asian countries moved from being low users (under 10 percent RMB) to medium users (between 10 percent and 50 percent).
Out of 26 countries, within the region and using the RMB for direct payments with China and Hong Kong, only nine are considered low users compared to 19 in 2012. Six countries are now considered high users of the currency.
“Asia Pacific is clearly paving the way forward when it comes to RMB adoption,” said Michael Moon, head of Payments Asia Pacific at SWIFT.
“Big trading partners like Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea have adopted the RMB for the majority of their payments with Greater China.
“The new appointments of four clearing centres (South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia) within the region should also have a positive impact on RMB adoption, solidifying the important role of the currency within Asia Pacific and abroad.”
Overall, the RMB remains in its position as the fifth most active currency for global payments and accounted for 2.07 percent of payments worldwide.
Its activity share is higher than last month even though RMB payments decreased in value by -6.7 percent compared to April 2015, while at a global level, all currencies decreased in value by -8.2 percent over the same period.