Cross-Border Settlement Currency Structure 2025: RMB Share Rises to 38%, USD Still Dominates

Overview of Cross-Border Settlement Currency Structure

In 2025, the currency composition of cross-border settlements for Chinese enterprises going global continues to evolve. Based on SWIFT message data, major bank annual reports, and industry estimates, the current currency share distribution is as follows:

• US Dollar (USD): ~45% — Still the largest, but significantly down from over 60% in 2020, mainly due to geopolitical de-dollarization trends and RMB internationalization.
• Renminbi (RMB): ~38% — Benefiting from expanded bilateral local-currency settlement agreements with ASEAN, Middle East, Africa, etc., and the extended coverage of Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS).
• Euro (EUR): ~10% — Mainly used in China-Europe trade, relatively stable.
• Japanese Yen (JPY): ~7% — Influenced by Sino-Japan trade volume and low-interest-rate financing in yen.

Trend Interpretation

1. RMB share rising rapidly: In 2024, RMB exceeded 50% in China's cross-border receipts and payments for the first time (domestic perspective), but this statistic focuses on actual settlement currencies for enterprises going global, excluding domestic RMB settlements, resulting in a 38% share.
2. USD share being eroded: US sanctions risks prompt some Chinese enterprises to switch to RMB or third-party currencies, especially in commodities.
3. EUR and JPY shares flat: Lack of strong growth catalysts, but remain important regional settlement currencies.

Data Sources and Notes

This data synthesizes SWIFT's "RMB Tracker" report (February 2025), the People's Bank of China's "2024 RMB Internationalization Report", and industry interviews. Since some settlements go through non-SWIFT channels (e.g., direct CIPS participants), the actual RMB share might be slightly higher. The figures in the chart are estimates and for reference only.