Category: CIPS system

What is the difference between a Direct Participant and an Indirect Participant?

A Direct Participant is a bank or financial institution directly connected to CIPS and able to process payments independently in the system.
An Indirect Participant handles CIPS transactions via a Direct Participant bank rather than having its own direct connection.
Currently, there are around 176 Direct Participants globally, enabling direct yuan transactions with those banks. There are also about 1,531 Indirect Participants that route through Direct Participants.

No. Membership in CIPS spans over 120 countries and regions, with more than 1,700 banks connected globally as of 2025. This means you can use CIPS for international yuan payments to many destinations beyond China.

No. CIPS is specialized for yuan (CNY) cross-border transactions. It does not replace SWIFT, which supports multiple currencies and a broader range of payment types.

CIPS operates under the supervision of the People’s Bank of China and follows international standards for transaction security and data confidentiality.

Any individual or organization that holds a yuan (CNY) account with our bank is eligible to send international yuan payments via CIPS.

There is no fixed cap on the number or total amount of international yuan transfers made through CIPS via our bank.

Yes. For transfers of 1,000,000 CNY or more, customers should notify our bank’s branches, which will in turn inform the relevant regulatory authorities as required.

If a transaction is flagged under compliance or control review by either our bank or the recipient bank, it may be returned. If that happens, any returned funds will be credited back to your account.

Full name, address, and account number (IBAN if applicable) of the recipient;
Name and SWIFT/CIPS code of the recipient’s bank;
If available, intermediary bank name and SWIFT/CIPS code;
Clear description/purpose of payment (e.g., tuition fee, invoice number, goods/services).