Standard Bank has become the first African-based lender authorised to clear renminbi transactions on the continent, a step that deepens the financial plumbing connecting Africa to China and moves more of their trade off the US dollar.

The bank, the largest in Africa by assets, said on Friday it had been jointly authorised with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) by the People’s Bank of China to clear renminbi in Africa. The two will operate as the “Renminbi Clearing Bank of Africa”, with the capacity to clear the currency in 19 African countries.

Standard Bank described it as the first renminbi clearing bank named after a continent and the first to be jointly run by two commercial banks.

The authorisation builds on a milestone reached in November, when Standard Bank became the first African bank admitted as a direct participant in China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (Cips), the settlement network Beijing has built as an alternative to the dollar-based correspondent banking system.

Clearing-bank status gives Standard Bank what it has called exclusive access to China’s onshore financial system, including its capital markets, liquidity and payments infrastructure. In practice, it positions Standard Bank as the primary conduit for settling Africa-China trade directly in renminbi, bypassing the dollar intermediary that has long added cost, delay and currency risk to those flows.

Largest trading partner

China is Africa’s largest trading partner, and Standard Bank’s own Africa Trade Barometer shows the pull strengthening: Asian countries are now the preferred trade partners for an average of 35% of businesses surveyed across 10 African markets, up from 24% in 2024, with China cited as the leading source of inputs by 67% of respondents.

“China is Africa’s largest export market, and with clearing status added to Cips participation, Standard Bank is even better placed to support Africa’s trade with China,” said Richard de Roos, head of operations for corporate and investment banking at the group.

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There is a wider pattern of African economies edging away from dollar dependence in their dealings with Beijing, alongside steps by other governments on the continent to settle debt and commodity payments in renminbi. For China, a continental clearing hub advances a long-running campaign to internationalise its currency and reduce the dollar’s dominance in global trade. — © 2026 NewsCentral Media