In today’s economic wave of globalization, the efficiency and security of cross-border payments have become increasingly important.
On June 16, 2026, the Digital RMB International Operation Center signed a direct participant service agreement with the first batch of 26 financial institutions. These institutions were able to access the “Cross-border e-CNY Transfer Services (CBETS)” cross-border settlement comprehensive service platform, marking the acceleration of the new infrastructure for cross-border payments.
“Shucoin” has two unique cooperation modes.
On the one hand, it supports cross-border interconnection with the payment systems/legal digital currency systems of various monetary authorities, which allows local institutions to achieve “one connection, all access” through the local system without changing the original channels; on the other hand, it also supports direct access by financial institutions and provides 7×24-hour intelligent digital payment services.
Fu Yifu, a special researcher at Suzhou Commercial Bank, pointed out that after many banks have access to “Shubida”, cross-border payments will usher in substantial improvements in the four dimensions of efficiency, cost, compliance and interconnection.
In terms of efficiency, the platform uses the central bank’s direct connection mechanism and distributed ledger technology to achieve “payment and settlement”, compressing the original arrival time of several days to seconds.
In terms of cost, point-to-point clearing bypasses the layers of agency bank charges, significantly reducing transaction rates.
In terms of compliance, smart contracts ensure that the entire transaction process is verifiable and traceable, effectively preventing money laundering risks.
The first 26 financial institutions that signed direct participant service agreements include many well-known domestic and foreign banks, including ICBC Asia, ICBC Macau, ICBC Singapore Branch, etc.
After going online, the business can cover Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Brazil and other countries and regions.
Standard Chartered China is one of the contracting institutions. Rene Michau, Global Head of Digital Assets of Standard Chartered Group, said that the signing of the “Digital” direct participant agreement is a positive step for Standard Chartered to participate in the development of central bank digital currency and digital renminbi. It is also a key part of its “super connector” strategy. It is believed that it can provide Chinese and global customers with more efficient, secure and convenient digital financial services.
“Shucoin” has three significant advantages.
First, the access cost is lower and the settlement efficiency is higher.
The platform adopts a componentized and modular architecture, provides flexible access options, and organically integrates retail and wholesale, on-chain and off-chain payment, clearing, and settlement services, greatly simplifying business processes and optimizing service experience.
Second, system services are standardized and compatible.
The technical route is compatible with centralized systems and blockchain systems, and settlement liquidity is managed in a unified manner; in terms of message standards, it is compatible with ISO20022, making it easy to interface with the internal systems of commercial banks. At the same time, it can cover off-chain and on-chain trade financial information transmission and payment services.
Third, the participation arrangements are highly inclusive and the business scenarios can be expanded.
Qualified commercial banks, financial infrastructure and payment service providers can apply for access.
The platform also provides standardized transfer services to support the interconnection between banks and enterprises, avoiding the cost and efficiency problems caused by multi-party docking.
“Shubida” can handle barcode payment, Pengpeng and other digital RMB cross-border consumption scenario businesses, as well as remittance, trade, investment and financing settlement and other businesses. It can also support the digital innovation business of financial institutions, and can subsequently iterate system functions in an agile manner according to the business needs of participating institutions.
From a development perspective, in 2026, with the adjustment of the digital renminbi measurement framework and the upgrade of the overall infrastructure system, the three major business platforms of the digital renminbi cross-border digital payment platform, blockchain service platform, and digital asset platform were upgraded to the “Digital RMB” cross-border settlement comprehensive service platform, and branded operations were launched.
Lu Lei, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, revealed that the Multilateral Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge (mBridge) is continuing to expand its members and business scenarios. At the same time, “Shucoin” supports “one-point access” for overseas institutions and 7×24-hour direct settlement on and off the chain.
Macau is actively promoting the sandbox test of the digital Macau patacas. In the future, it is expected to realize the interconnection between the digital Macau patacas system and “Shucoda” to provide China and Portuguese-speaking countries with a more transparent, safe, efficient and low-cost cross-border payment and settlement channel.
Looking to the future, “Shucoin” will present three major trends.
First, participants will continue to expand. In the future, the Digital RMB International Operation Center will continue to expand its membership and attract more qualified commercial banks, financial infrastructure and payment service providers to join.
Second, application scenarios will continue to deepen, extending from cross-border consumption and trade settlement to more complex areas such as investment and financing, supply chain finance, and digital assets. The integration of digital asset platforms will also make the cross-border circulation of compliant assets such as bonds and carbon quotas possible.
Third, global interconnection will continue to integrate. “Shucoinda” has achieved connectivity with the multilateral central bank digital currency bridge, and is expected to connect with the central bank digital currency systems of more countries and regions in the future.
The development of “Shubida” will undoubtedly provide stronger financial support for Chinese goods to go global and help China occupy a more favorable position in global trade.
