China pushes yuan settlements in Africa

Ecobank is negotiating with Bank of China to let African clients pay Chinese suppliers directly in yuan by the end of 2026. (msn.com) Group Chief Executive Jeremy Awori said the product would convert local African currencies straight into yuan instead of routing payments through the U.S. dollar. Reuters reported the talks on April 21, 2026. (zawya.com) For importers in Lagos, Nairobi or Lomé, the current process often means two foreign-exchange trades: local currency into dollars, then dollars into yuan. Cutting out one leg can reduce fees, shorten settlement time and lower exposure to swings in the dollar. (ecofinagency.com) Ecobank matters here because it operates across 35 sub-Saharan African countries and markets itself as a single platform for payments, cash management and trade finance. A yuan channel on that network would reach far beyond one national banking system. (ecobank.com) The talks build on a memorandum of understanding signed on December 22, 2025, between Ecobank and Bank of China Mauritius. That agreement covered trade finance, cross-border payments and renminbi services for Africa-China business. (ecofinagency.com) China’s trade with Africa has been rising fast enough to give banks a reason to rework the payment rails. China’s General Administration of Customs said two-way trade with African countries reached 2.1 trillion yuan in 2024, about $295.6 billion, a record. (english.www.gov.cn) This is not just a currency story. It is also a plumbing story: which banks clear payments, which currency gets used on invoices, and which side absorbs exchange-rate risk when a shipment is paid for. (businessday.ng) African banks are already testing more direct renminbi links. Standard Bank received formal approval in April 2025 to join China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System directly, replacing an indirect arrangement it had used since 2017. (cnbcafrica.com) The limits are clear too. Africa still borrows, saves and prices much of its external finance in dollars, and analysts have warned that settling more trade in yuan does not remove dollar exposure if debts and reserves stay elsewhere. (ecofinagency.com) Awori said Ecobank is investing in the payment tools needed for the shift, and the bank is targeting a launch before December 31, 2026. If the talks close, the next test is whether traders actually move their invoices with the new rail. (africabusinessinsight.com)