Bank of Kigali has joined China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, or CIPS, as a direct participant. It’s the first bank in Rwanda to do so. It’s also the first bank headquartered in East or Central Africa to gain direct access to the network.
The agreement was signed on September 8 in Xiamen, China during the second CIPS Cross-Border Bank-Enterprise Cooperation Event.
The People’s Bank of China launched CIPS, China’s infrastructure for clearing and settling cross-border payments in renminbi, in 2015. The goal was to reduce global reliance on the US dollar and Western payment rails for trade involving China.
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Direct participation changes how Bank of Kigali can move money. Banks that connect directly to CIPS can process renminbi transactions without routing them through several intermediary institutions.
Indirect participants, by contrast, still need a direct participant to access the system on their behalf. For the Bank of Kigali, that means fewer intermediary banks, faster settlement, and lower costs for renminbi-denominated payments.
Bank of Kigali said the move would make payments between Rwanda and China simpler, faster and more connected. It also frames the deal less as choosing between CIPS and SWIFT, but more as adding a direct route into China’s payment infrastructure. CIPS works alongside SWIFT rather than replacing it, using compatible messaging formats.
China is Rwanda’s largest trading partner. It accounted for 26.7% of Rwanda’s imports in the first quarter of 2026, worth about $355.5 million, and 25.8% of Rwanda’s exports over the same period. Trade between the two countries reached roughly $1.76 billion in 2024, up sharply from 2021.
Bank of Kigali already had some yuan-related infrastructure in place. It introduced Alipay transfers in 2022, letting customers in Rwanda send money to China. Nearly $2 million moved through that service in 2023. The bank has also been working with Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank and Bank of China, and said it plans to grow its Chinese partner-bank relationships from three to six by the end of 2026.
Bank of Kigali isn’t the first African bank into CIPS, but it is a regional first.
Standard Bank Group became the first African bank to join CIPS directly, doing so through its South African operations, and is now authorised to clear renminbi transactions across 19 African countries. Ecobank, which operates across dozens of African markets, has been exploring similar arrangements.
As of June 2026, CIPS counted 210 direct participants and 1,619 indirect participants worldwide, including 103 indirect participants in Africa, a base Bank of Kigali could now sit above as the first direct link in its region.
Last updated: September 24, 2026
