SWIFT report: In July this year, RMB’s share of global payments exceeded 3%

On the 23rd, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) released a monthly RMB report and statistics showing that in July 2023, in the global payment currency rankings based on amount statistics, the RMB accounted for 3.06%. This is the second time on record that the RMB accounted for more than 3% of global payments in a single month.

The last time the RMB exceeded 3% was in January 2022, when the RMB's proportion in international payments reached 3.2%.

Bloomberg reported on the 24th that as the RMB gradually integrates into global foreign exchange flows, RMB-related transactions have increased. In July, more than 3% of instructions sent via SWIFT involved yuan, compared with about 0.03% in 2010. The report also said that data showed that the proportion of U.S. dollar-related transactions rose to a record 46% in July, a figure that was slightly more than one-third 10 years ago. "In terms of transaction volume, the U.S. dollar is the largest currency, followed by the euro, pound, yen and renminbi." Bloomberg said that although SWIFT's data does not cover the entire foreign exchange market, it supports the view that the role of the U.S. dollar in the international financial field remains strong, despite some signs of greater diversification. For example, the multilateral lending institution created by the BRICS countries aims to increase the proportion of local currency lending from less than 20% to 30%. "Much of the dollar's growth in SWIFT transactions has come at the expense of the euro, whose share peaked at 46% in 2012. Last month, the euro's share of transactions fell to its lowest level on record, at just under a quarter."