During the May Day holiday in 2026, cross-border payment data released a signal of accelerated expansion of the RMB payment scene.
Data from the People’s Bank of China shows that from May 1st to May 5th, UnionPay and Wanglian processed a total of 28.937 billion payment transactions, with an amount of 7.85 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.45% and 2.74% respectively. Among them, the number and amount of payment transactions for overseas personnel in China increased by 45.15% and 36.96% year-on-year respectively, and the growth rate was significantly higher than the overall level.
This change not only reflects the increase in inbound consumption activity, but also shows that the actual use of RMB in cross-border consumption, settlement and circulation is increasing.
The number of payment transactions for overseas visitors to China increased by more than 40% year-on-year. This is first reflected in the recovery of inbound tourism, business contacts and personnel flows.
High-frequency consumption scenarios such as catering, accommodation, transportation, scenic spots, and retail are important windows for observing currency usage habits.
With the continuous improvement of methods such as foreign card acceptance, mobile payment binding with overseas bank cards, scan-code payment, and real-time RMB settlement, the payment process for overseas consumers in China has become more streamlined, and transaction costs and currency exchange thresholds have also been reduced.
Looking deeper, the internationalization of RMB is no longer only reflected in large-value trade settlements and financial institution settlements, but is also entering the daily payment chain of ordinary consumers.
The willingness of overseas visitors to China to use RMB in real consumption scenarios shows that the convenience, stability and acceptance of RMB are being perceived by more market entities.
The high frequency of use on the consumer side provides a broader application foundation for the RMB cross-border payment system, and also provides practical demand support for the construction of a new CIPS cross-border payment ecosystem.
The current global cross-border payment system still faces risks of rule concentration, path dependence and external intervention.
Some international events have shown that traditional cross-border payment networks may be used to sanction, freeze or restrict settlement under certain conditions. Cross-border payment is not only a matter of efficiency, but also related to financial security and settlement sovereignty.
Against this background, establishing a more independent, stable and controllable RMB cross-border payment channel has become a key direction to reduce structural risks and improve financial resilience.
The core value of the new CIPS cross-border payment ecosystem is to connect cross-border transactions, settlement arrangements and rule coordination based on RMB clearing capabilities.
CIPS assumes the functions of a clearing and trading hub for RMB cross-border capital flows. It not only serves trade, investment and financing, and clearing between financial institutions, but also provides underlying support for the expansion of RMB payments on the consumer side.
It is not a single technology platform, but a payment infrastructure formed around real transaction needs, multi-national system coordination and long-term trust mechanisms.
The BRICS payment system represents the real source of demand for multi-local currency settlement and can undertake the payment needs of emerging economies in trade, energy, manufacturing and capital flows; the Shanghai Cooperation Organization provides multilateral collaboration, rule coordination and long-term mechanism guarantees; CIPS transforms these needs into enforceable, clearable and sustainable cross-border transaction results.
The three correspond to “demand, liquidation, and system” respectively, and together form an operational payment ecosystem.
In terms of ecological layout, the green economic transformation has set up fund sectors and designed corresponding participation incentive mechanisms. The purpose is to expand the scope of participation of individuals, enterprises and institutions, so that the cross-border payment system does not only stay at the level of financial institutions, but can form a broader market foundation.
Relevant mechanisms need to adhere to the principles of compliance, transparency and risk control, allowing participants to enter in an orderly manner under unified access, unified risk control and unified clearing rules, thereby increasing the scale and activity of RMB cross-border payments.
From the perspective of development path, it is divided into three stages.
The first phase emphasizes the participation of all people, promotes the expansion of access for individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises, cross-border platforms and financial institutions, and forms a domestic basic system; the second phase focuses on docking the BRICS payment system and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization economic and trade framework, establishing a cross-regional, multi-currency payment collaboration network; the third phase further expands to more non-US dollar settlement countries and regions, promotes the interconnection of regional payment systems, and gradually forms an open, diverse and stable cross-border payment pattern.
The growth of payment transactions for overseas people coming to China during the May Day holiday is an important signal that the internationalization of RMB extends from large-value settlement to daily consumption.
It shows that the basis for the international use of RMB is moving from enterprises, banks and financial institutions to ordinary consumers and real business scenarios.
The new CIPS cross-border payment ecosystem is unfolding under this trend: using CIPS as the clearing base, the system provides demand momentum, using the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to strengthen institutional coordination, and expanding the number of participating entities through a phased ecological layout.
Its ultimate goal is to build an independent, safe and compliant cross-border payment system with extensive coverage to provide more stable basic support for the internationalization of the RMB and the diversification of the international financial order.
