In the context of the continued advancement of RMB internationalization and the accelerated implementation of cross-border applications of digital RMB, a set of cross-border digital payment infrastructure led by the central bank has officially completed the integration and upgrade – CBETS (English abbreviation: CBETS, full name Cross-border e-CNY Transfer Services, digital RMB cross-border settlement comprehensive service platform).
As a bilateral service hub for digital renminbi facing the global market, it directly addresses the industry pain points of high cost, long cycle and insufficient transparency of traditional cross-border payments. It provides one-stop digital renminbi cross-border settlement solutions for enterprises, financial institutions and monetary authorities of various countries. It is a key carrier for my country’s digital finance to open up to the outside world.
1. Official top-level structure: a national cross-border financial platform led by the central bank
Shucoda is composed of two core systems: the digital RMB cross-border digital payment platform and the digital RMB block
The chain service platform is overall under the guidance of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China. The Digital RMB International Operation Center located in Shanghai is responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance, and iterative upgrades. It has the attributes of a national financial infrastructure and is essentially different from private payment platforms and crypto assets. It operates in accordance with the compliance regulatory framework throughout the process.
.
The construction and implementation of the platform has a clear and complete development timeline:
1. In June 2025, the central bank announced the establishment of a digital renminbi international operation center in Shanghai to build an exclusive operating entity for digital renminbi cross-border business;
2. In September 2025, the digital renminbi international operation center was officially put into operation, and the three major business platforms of cross-border payment, blockchain services, and digital assets were simultaneously launched, laying the foundation for subsequent integration;
3.
In 2026, relying on the upgrade of the digital RMB measurement framework, the original three major platforms were integrated and iterated, and the unified brand was named “Shubida”; on June 16, 2026, the platform completed key signings and established direct participant cooperation relationships with 26 domestic and foreign institutions, marking the platform’s official large-scale commercial launch.
The first batch of 26 direct participants signing contracts covers a wide range of areas, including Hong Kong and Macau, as well as financial institutions in Singapore, Laos, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Brazil and other countries. Chinese-funded overseas branches and foreign-funded corporate banks are among them. Bank of China Hong Kong, Bank of China Thailand, and ICBC Singapore Branch are among the first batch of institutions. They have completed the opening of cross-border settlement wallets and real transaction tests, and initially established a cross-border service network covering multiple regions.
2. Full-scenario business coverage: Connecting the entire chain of consumption, trade, investment and financing
Shucoida is not a single transfer tool, but a comprehensive settlement platform covering retail, wholesale, enterprise, and cross-border financial innovation. The five core business segments fully cover all scenarios of cross-border capital circulation:
1.
Cross-border consumption: supports digital RMB barcode payment, Pengpeng and other offline retail scenarios to facilitate cross-border offline consumption and business travel payments for domestic and foreign residents;
2. Cross-border remittance: open up domestic and overseas wallet and bank account systems to achieve rapid cross-border fund transfers for individuals and enterprises;
3. International trade settlement: adapted to the settlement of import and export payments for foreign trade companies, replacing the traditional multi-agent bank transfer model;
4.
Cross-border investment and financing settlement: serving cross-border direct investment, bonds, equity and other capital items for fund delivery;
5. Smart contract automatic settlement: Relying on blockchain technology, complex customized payment scenarios such as phased payment for trade, fund supervision, and automatic transfer for contract performance can be realized to reduce manual operation risks.
Three and six core advantages, solving the pain points of traditional cross-border payments
Compared with traditional cross-border clearing systems such as SWIFT, Shucoin relies on digital renminbi and blockchain underlying technology to form differentiated service advantages:
1. 7×24-hour uninterrupted service: not restricted by national holidays and bank business hours, funds can be cleared at any time;
2.
One-point access, global access: Establish a unified access node in Hong Kong, and overseas institutions can activate all cross-border businesses with only one connection, greatly simplifying the connection process;
3.
The transaction link is shorter and the timeliness is greatly accelerated: multi-layer intermediary agent bank transfer links are eliminated, and funds go directly to the clearing entities of both parties; in a typical case, China Southern Power Grid collects cross-border electricity sales in Laos through Coinda, and the traditional settlement cycle of 3 working days is compressed to within 5 hours, improving efficiency several times;
4. Lower comprehensive channel costs: reducing multi-layer handling fees, transit exchange losses, and reducing the overall cost of corporate cross-border trade and personal cross-border remittances;
5.
The entire transaction chain is transparent and traceable: every fund flow leaves complete traces, and institutions and regulators can track the transaction status in real time, taking into account financial convenience and compliance supervision;
6. Strong cross-system interconnection capabilities: It is compatible with the payment systems of various countries’ monetary authorities and the global legal digital currency system, and realizes the interoperability of digital payment networks of central banks in different countries, with strong openness and compatibility.
4. Two access modes, taking into account the cooperation needs of institutions and central banks of various countries
In order to adapt to the cooperation needs of different market entities, Shucoin has designed two sets of parallel cooperation mechanisms, taking into account flexibility and inclusiveness:
One is direct access by financial institutions, and domestic and overseas licensed commercial banks and payment infrastructure institutions complete the signing
After making an appointment, you can directly connect to the platform system and open digital RMB cross-border settlement services to your own customers;
The second is the interconnection of monetary authorities. Central banks of various countries and regions can connect to the underlying interface of the platform to realize the connection between the local legal currency payment system and the digital RMB network. Local financial institutions can reuse the original channels to carry out cross-border digital currency business without having to modify the system separately, truly realizing “one connection, all connections”
.
5. Long-term layout: linking multilateral central bank digital currency bridges and expanding global cooperation territory
Shucoda’s long-term development goal is to build a unified payment network compatible with global central bank digital currencies.
Currently, the Digital RMB International Operation Center is steadily promoting the connection between Shubida and the multilateral central bank digital currency bridge (mBridge) system to open up regional multilateral digital currency clearing channels.
In the future, the platform will continue to expand the capacity of global participating institutions, connect with the digital currency infrastructure of more central banks, and form a set of self-controllable, efficient, low-cost, compliant and transparent cross-border payment “Chinese solutions”.
On the one hand, it helps foreign trade, energy, and cross-border investment entities reduce capital turnover costs; on the other hand, it continues to expand the cross-border use scenarios of digital RMB and steadily serves the implementation of the RMB internationalization strategy.
Conclusion
In short, CBETS is a new digital renminbi cross-border core financial infrastructure independently developed by my country and coordinated and operated by the central bank.
It integrates multiple technical capabilities of payment, blockchain, and smart contracts to open up multiple scenarios of personal consumption, corporate trade, and cross-border investment and financing. It uses its core advantages of all-weather, short links, low cost, and high transparency to make up for the shortcomings of the traditional cross-border payment system.
As global cooperation institutions continue to expand and interconnect with multilateral central bank digital currency bridges, Shucoin will continue to build a more inclusive, efficient and secure global digital payment network, becoming a core hub for digital renminbi to go global and empower the cross-border real economy.
