As a core financial infrastructure for the internationalization of the RMB, the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) is experiencing rapid development thanks to its strong profitability and robust technological capabilities. Leveraging the ecosystem expansion and technological upgrades following the implementation of new regulations, participating institutions have achieved remarkable business results, becoming a shining example in the global cross-border payment field.
Profitability Continues to Lead, Three Core Drivers of High Performance Growth
CIPS’s high profitability is not accidental, but rather the result of the combined effects of economies of scale, cost advantages, and scenario expansion. In terms of scale, as of the latest data, CIPS has gathered 190 direct participants and 1567 indirect participants, with overseas direct participants accounting for 73%, covering 122 countries and regions. This massive network base lays the foundation for the growth of transaction volume. Among them, ICBC, as a core direct participant, has increased the number of its offshore RMB clearing banks to 12. Leveraging its massive cross-border fund settlement scale, it has achieved stable revenue, and its international business continues to contribute significantly to the group’s revenue.
Cost advantages further amplify profit margins. The new regulations establish a hybrid settlement model of “real-time full amount + timed net amount,” allowing large sums of money to arrive in 8 seconds and batch transactions to be settled on the same day. This improves capital turnover efficiency by 40% compared to the traditional model, significantly reducing the liquidity costs for financial institutions, which in turn translates to a 66% reduction in fees for users. This advantage directly drives a surge in business volume: Hailian Jinhui, a company with dual payment licenses, processed over 300 billion yuan in RMB settlements for Sino-Iranian oil transactions in 2025; Lakala, deeply rooted in the Saudi energy settlement market, has a commission rate only 1/5 of traditional channels, and its cross-border transaction volume exceeded 800 billion yuan in 2025, demonstrating outstanding profitability.
Expanding scenarios unlocks growth ceilings. With the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative and the rise of demand in regions such as the Middle East and Africa, CIPS’s application in energy, cross-border e-commerce, and commodities continues to deepen, becoming the preferred cross-border settlement method for related enterprises, further boosting transaction volume and profitability.
**Technological Strength Provides Strong Support, Building Competitive Barriers from Multiple Dimensions**
CIPS’s technological leadership permeates the entire chain of system architecture, clearing efficiency, and security, becoming key to its core competitiveness. In terms of clearing technology, the system deeply integrates blockchain and smart contract technologies, achieving real-time clearing in 8 seconds, more than 300 times faster than traditional cross-border payments, and supporting “5×24 hours + normalized overseas working days service,” completely breaking down time and geographical limitations. Chinalco Group achieved cross-border delivery of aluminum ingots through “blockchain + smart contracts,” reducing the entire process from 7 days to 19 minutes and saving 83% in compliance costs, demonstrating the empowering value of technology for business.
Multi-currency processing capabilities and international adaptability highlight the advanced technology. CIPS has launched services for five major currencies, including USD, EUR, and JPY. It adopts a multi-currency account + single-message system design, capable of processing 3,000 multi-currency transactions per second. Furthermore, it will complete the ISO 20022 message standard upgrade in 2026, further enhancing international compatibility. Regarding underlying technology support, Sifang Jingchuang leads the design of the cross-border payment underlying architecture, and its blockchain technology has been implemented in more than 10 digital RMB cross-border projects in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Changliang Technology’s “Multi-currency Second-Level Clearing System” serves over 200 banks and is deploying CIPS integration solutions for Middle Eastern institutions, making technology export a significant growth point.
Security technology strengthens the risk defense line.
The system explicitly defines CIPS accounts as having “zero balance, no interest, and no overdraft,” with mandatory daily zeroing of balances. Combined with the central bank’s clearing account custody and cross-bank real-time query functions, it successfully intercepted 37 suspicious transactions in 2024, involving 120 million yuan. Xin’an Century’s quantum encryption technology, certified by the central bank, provides security modules for participating banks such as Bank of Communications and Bank of China, ensuring foolproof fund settlement.
From technological innovation to explosive profit growth, CIPS is reshaping the global cross-border payment landscape through a dual-engine approach of “technology empowerment + scale expansion.” Participating institutions such as ICBC and Hailian Jinhui continue to benefit from their first-mover advantage, while the robust support from underlying technology service providers further enhances the competitiveness of this financial infrastructure, injecting sustained momentum into the internationalization of the RMB.
