Chinese banks, Ant International push instant cross-border digital yuan transfers

Two Chinese state-owned banks and Ant International have trialled cross-border digital yuan transfers worth hundreds of millions of yuan, marking the latest step in Beijing’s efforts to streamline settlements and promote wider international use of the digital yuan.

The Shanghai branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) facilitated its first digital yuan transfer for Ant International to ICBC Asia, its Hong Kong subsidiary. The transaction from Shanghai to Hong Kong was completed within seconds, compared with the several days typically required for large cross-border transfers through traditional channels, domestic media outlet Financial News reported on Tuesday.

Ant International is the Singapore-based arm of China’s Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post.

Similarly, the Shanghai branch of China Construction Bank (CCB) also facilitated a digital yuan transfer worth hundreds of millions of yuan for Ant International to CCB Asia, the bank’s Hong Kong subsidiary, state-owned China Business Journal reported on Friday.