Newsletters
Türkiye’s banking sector made its first direct move into China’s yuan payment system on Wednesday as Aktif Bank became the first Turkish bank to join the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), excluding two Chinese banks operating in the country.
The bank signed a participation agreement for CIPS at the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen, Fujian province, aiming to make yuan-denominated cross-border payments more accessible to Turkish businesses and expand its payment corridor into China.
Developed by the People’s Bank of China, CIPS is a digital platform for yuan-denominated payments and settlements. The platform has grown rapidly over the past five years as foreign banks joined the system and now serves more than 1,800 banks.
Yuan-denominated payments made through CIPS accounted for 28% of China’s $6 trillion foreign trade volume over the past five years, up from 15%. Trade between Türkiye and China also rose from $25 billion to more than $50 billion over the same period, suggesting growing demand among Turkish producers and traders for yuan-denominated payment systems.
"With rising yuan payments in Chinese foreign trade and growing demand for yuan payment systems in Turkiye, joining this platform has been a viable opportunity for us," the bank’s General Manager Aysegul Adaca Ogan said.
Aktif Bank plans to open its digital banking platform to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), allowing them to make payments through CIPS. The bank expects the system to cut the time and costs associated with multiple currency conversions while improving operational efficiency.
The move makes the lender a leading CIPS bank in Türkiye’s surrounding region, Ogan stressed, pointing to its correspondent relationships with more than 1,300 banks worldwide and its strong presence across several payment corridors.
In Africa, the bank maintains relationships with 450 banks and plays an active role in trade payments.
Aktif Bank views the growing trade volume between Türkiye and China as an important opportunity and aims to strengthen its role in trade payments between the two countries through its direct participation in CIPS, she added.
Founded in 1998, Aktif Bank ranks as Türkiye’s 23rd-largest bank, with total assets of €2.7 billion ($3.1 billion) as of the end of 2025, according to official data.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
