On June 16, 2026, a landmark moment arrived. The Digital RMB International Operation Center of the People’s Bank of China completed signings with 26 direct participants, marking the official launch of the digital RMB all-weather cross-border payment function.
This move is like a huge stone thrown into the financial field, causing ripples and bringing new opportunities for international financial cooperation and trade facilitation.
After the signing, domestic and foreign financial institutions accessed the “Digital” cross-border settlement comprehensive service platform, opening a new era of 7×24-hour RMB cross-border digital payment business.
This means that cross-border digital payment operations can be carried out no matter when and where, whether it is a working day or a holiday, truly realizing a convenient payment experience all year round.
The first batch of 26 direct participants have a wide business coverage, including Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Brazil and other countries and regions.
Specifically involving Bank of China Hong Kong, ICBC Asia, ICBC Singapore Branch, ICBC Doha Branch, Bank of China Singapore Branch, ICBC Thailand, Standard Chartered China and other financial institutions.
The “Shubida” cross-border settlement comprehensive service platform has powerful functions and significant advantages.
It supports digital renminbi cross-border consumption, remittance, trade, investment and financing settlement and other businesses.
Compared with traditional cross-border payment methods, this platform has shorter transaction links, lower channel costs, and higher settlement efficiency.
BOC Hong Kong and BOC Thailand have become the first direct participants and have successfully opened settlement wallets.
Among them, BOC Hong Kong has also become the first overseas fund custody bank.
Standard Chartered Bank stated that this service provides customers with an efficient, convenient, compliant, transparent and low-cost cross-border payment experience.
The business processing capabilities of this platform are very powerful.
It can handle digital RMB cross-border consumption scenario businesses such as barcode payment and Pengpeng, as well as remittance, trade, investment and financing settlement and other businesses.
At the same time, it supports the interconnection of payment systems of local monetary authorities, further improving the efficiency of cross-border payments.
This makes the application of digital renminbi in cross-border payments more extensive and in-depth.
The practical significance of this move is significant.
It will promote the widespread application of RMB in cross-border payments, provide more options for international settlement, and can be regarded as an upgraded version of traditional settlement methods.
In the context of global economic integration, the launch of the all-weather function of digital RMB cross-border payment will help strengthen international financial cooperation, promote trade facilitation, and enhance the status of the RMB in the international monetary system.
As more and more financial institutions and companies participate in digital renminbi cross-border payment services, it is believed that digital renminbi will play a more important role on the international financial stage.
