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. This move greatly accelerated the construction of new cross-border payment infrastructure.
‘Shucoin’ has two cooperation modes.
On the one hand, it supports cross-border interconnection with the payment systems/legal digital currency systems of various monetary authorities, allowing 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 to enjoy 7×24-hour intelligent digital payment services.
Fu Yifu, a special researcher at Sushang Bank, pointed out that after many banks access “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 to sign direct participant service agreements include 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 signing institutions. Rene Michau, Global Head of Digital Assets of Standard Chartered Group, said that the signing of the direct participant agreement of “Shucoin” is a positive step for them to participate in the development of central bank digital currency and digital renminbi. It is also a key part of the “super connector” strategy. By participating in this cutting-edge digital renminbi cross-border payment system, Standard Chartered will provide Chinese and global customers with more efficient, secure and convenient digital financial services.
‘Shubida’ 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.
The second is that system services are standardized and compatible.
‘Shubida’ is compatible with centralized systems and blockchain systems on its technical route, and provides unified management of settlement liquidity; it is compatible with ISO20022 in terms of message standards, making it easy to interface with the internal systems of commercial banks, and 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 are scalable.
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 the perspective of development history, 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 Currency’ 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 and interoperability between the digital Macau patacas system and the “Shucoda”, providing China and Portuguese-speaking countries with a more transparent, safe, efficient and low-cost cross-border payment and settlement channel.
Looking forward to the future, Fu Yifu believes that “Digital” will present three major trends: First, the participants will continue to expand, and the Digital RMB International Operation Center will continue to expand its membership in the future to attract more qualified commercial banks, financial infrastructure and payment service providers to join; second, the application scenarios will continue to deepen, from cross-border consumption to trade settlements.
The calculation extends to more complex areas such as investment and financing, supply chain finance, digital assets, etc. 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. ‘Shucoin’ has been connected to the multilateral central bank digital currency bridge and is expected to connect to the central bank digital currency systems of more countries and regions in the future.
