Ecobank has announced plans to join China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), expanding options for businesses to settle transactions in yuan. CIPS connects more than 5,000 banks across over 100 countries and territories, enabling businesses trading with China to settle payments more directly. Ecobank, which operates in 34 African countries, is also negotiating with Bank of China to jointly offer yuan settlement. The expansion reflects rising demand for local currency settlement as China-Africa commerce expands, with bilateral trade growing nearly 18% last year, and Beijing dropping tariffs on imports from 53 African nations from May 1. Though the dollar still dominates global trade and reserves, more African banks are building yuan capacity. Standard Bank became the first African lender to connect to CIPS last November, Bank of Kigali has joined, and Angola’s BFA plans to follow.