RMB intl payment share rises to 1.79% in May

The share of renminbi international payments rose to 1.79 percent in May, up 1.66 percent from the previous month, maintaining a sixth-place spot in the world, according to the latest report by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) on Thursday.

Statistics show that the top three currencies of the US dollar, euro and British pound accounted for a respective 40.88 percent, 32.91 percent and 6.75 percent in terms of the currency payment value in May, according to SWIFT, the global financial messaging network.

The Japanese yen and Swiss franc ranked fourth and fifth with 3.53 percent and 1.88 percent shares, while Canadian and Australian dollars ranked seventh and eighth with 1.7 percent and 1.46 percent shares, respectively.

The yuan remained the fifth most active currency for global payments in value terms in March, with a share of 1.85 percent, up from 1.65 percent in January. The RMB payment value increased by 21.48 percent on a monthly basis in March, according to SWIFT data.

The role of RMB in global payments has increased globally with its share in international payments and settlement under the capital account reaching a record in March and cross-border investment replacing trade as the driving force for the Chinese currency's internationalization campaign.