China's CIPS expands to Mongolia and Kazakhstan

Mongolia’s Golomt Bank, the country’s second‑largest lender, has connected directly to China’s Cross‑Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). Within six months, 96 % of its yuan payments shifted from SWIFT to CIPS, cutting settlement times to near‑real‑time and lowering costs for importers and small businesses. Bank chief executive Amarzaya Odonbaatar said the direct link makes transactions “affordable and saves time.”

In Kazakhstan, deputy head of the central bank Binur Zhalenov announced a plan to launch full CIPS integration by November. The agreement, reached during a visit to Beijing, also envisions QR‑code payment interoperability and a pilot program linking Kazakhstan’s digital tenge with China’s digital yuan, slated for 2027. Both moves underscore Beijing’s strategy to promote CIPS as an alternative to the Western‑dominated SWIFT network.

These developments signal a regional shift toward the yuan‑settlement infrastructure, aiming to accelerate cross‑border trade and reduce reliance on traditional correspondent‑bank channels.