In today’s globalized economic landscape, cross-border payment has become a hot topic that has attracted much attention.
The People’s Bank of China issued the revised “Business Rules for the RMB Cross-border Payment System”, which will be officially implemented on February 1, 2026.
The rules clarify the requirements for CIPS account management, business processing, and settlement mechanisms, covering participant management, risk management, emergency response, etc., and also support hybrid settlement models.
Soochow Securities previously issued a research report stating that this provides a more complete institutional guarantee for cross-border RMB payments and financial market business.
On March 26, during the Boao Forum for Asia 2026 Annual Conference, at the sub-forum with the theme of “Building a Diversified Cross-border Payment System”, the topic of cross-border payments triggered heated discussions among many experts, scholars and representatives of financial institutions.
When presiding over the forum, Zhu Feng, chief economist of JPMorgan Chase China, pointed out, “Cross-border payments have three goals: efficiency, cost reduction and security. Usually we can only achieve two goals, so how to achieve three goals together? It is difficult.” For a long time, cross-border payments have relied on the agency bank model, with long chains, many intermediate links, and long settlement cycles. The user experience is far less convenient than domestic payments.
Dong Junfeng, Chairman of China UnionPay, shared three new characteristics of the diversified cross-border payment system.
First, regional characteristics represented by “South-South Cooperation” are becoming increasingly prominent. Emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa are cultivating local digital payment systems. The focus of cross-border payment reform is shifting from traditional developed markets to global southern markets.
This means that the global cross-border payment landscape is undergoing profound changes, and emerging markets are gradually gaining more say in the field of cross-border payments.
Second, emerging technologies are closely integrated with cross-border payments, and central bank digital currencies, account-based networks, artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies are accelerating their application.
The application of these emerging technologies is expected to improve the efficiency and security of cross-border payments and reduce costs.
Third, the participation of new infrastructure and the pattern of extensive interconnection are becoming increasingly clear, and the efficient connection of QR code payment, digital wallets and existing payment networks is becoming a reality.
This will provide users with a more convenient and efficient cross-border payment experience.
Zhou Xiaochuan, vice chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and former president of the People’s Bank of China, emphasized that the core of a good cross-border payment system lies in the word “system”.
He said: “It’s a bit like I need a person who is fully healthy to work. It does not mean that a single champion can improve the entire system.” This means that the construction of a cross-border payment system needs to comprehensively consider all aspects of factors and form an organic whole to achieve a balance of efficiency, cost reduction and security.
The development of cross-border payments is of great significance to promoting global trade and economic cooperation.
With the implementation of the People’s Bank of China’s rules and the continuous application of emerging technologies, cross-border payments are expected to usher in a more efficient, safer and more convenient development stage.
At the same time, all parties need to work together to explore how to find the best balance between efficiency, cost reduction and security, and promote the continuous improvement of the cross-border payment system.
