Clients can make Renminbi (RMB) Swift payments into and out of China.
Can I send CNY payments into China?
You can send offshore RMB (CNH) payments via Swift into China, which will be received by the beneficiary as CNY at a 1:1 exchange rate. A valid payment purpose code is needed as this is a cross-border Swift CNH payment into China.
Can I send CNY payments outside China?
Yes. You can send offshore RMB (CNH) to beneficiaries are outside China.
Why does the CurrencyCloud system show CNY?
We display Renminbi transactions as CNY, as we follow the Swift ISO currency code for RMB. However, as our RMB is traded offshore, outside of The People’s Republic of China (PRC), Currencycloud is handling and trading offshore CNY or CNH.
Whether it becomes CNY or CNH for the beneficiary depends on where the beneficiary is located – if the beneficiary is in China, it will land as offshore CNY and if the beneficiary is outside of China it will land as CNH.
What is the difference between CNY and CNH?
Renminbi is the name of the currency of the People’s Republic of China (RMB) while the currency unit is the Yuan. There are two types of Renminbi, each one covering a different trading market. CNY is used in the domestic economy while CNH is used for international trade. These two markets differ according to regulations and each market has its own exchange rate. At Currencycloud, we use the CNH exchange rate.
How exactly are CNY payments made into China?
CNY payments into China are facilitated through our banking partner, a member of CIPS (Cross-Border Inter-Bank Payments System). This ensures CNH is converted to CNY at a 1:1 exchange rate upon reaching mainland China, eliminating the need for a second FX conversion in China.
The payment process is as follows:
- Currencycloud collects funds from your customer (e.g., USD).
- The funds are transferred from the customer's sub-account into Currencycloud’s master account.
- Our banking partner converts the funds into CNH.
- The CNH is sent via Swift to our correspondent banking partner in China as part of the CIPS scheme.
- The correspondent bank in China converts CNH to CNY at a 1:1 ratio and deposits the funds in the beneficiary’s bank account.
To illustrate: Customer's USD is collected --> USD is converted to CNH --> CNH is sent via Swift into China --> The correspondent bank in China converts CNH to CNY at a 1:1 ratio and then deposits the funds in the beneficiary’s bank account.