THE yuan is increasingly being used by financial institutions worldwide to settle payments with counterparties on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, the global transaction services organization SWIFT said.

    The yuan, also known as the renminbi, remained the fifth most used currency for global payments by value in February with a market share of 1.76 percent, according to SWIFT.

    Data from the organization showed that in February, 1,131 banks were using the yuan for payments, representing 37 percent of all institutions exchanging payments with the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong across all currencies.

    That was an 18 percent increase over the last two years with a majority of institutions located in Asia-Pacific, followed by Europe and the Americas.

    “The number of days it takes to settle payments in the renminbi has grown to the highest level in many years,” said Michael Moon, head of payments, Asia-Pacific at SWIFT.

    “The adoption of the currency by more financial institutions, within Asia-Pacific and abroad, will however further increase the global utility of the renminbi for payments and, over time, will drive continued internationalization of the Chinese currency.”

    The International Monetary Fund late last year admitted the yuan into its benchmark currency basket in what was seen as a victory for China’s push for the yuan to become more internationally accepted. (SD-Agencies)