Uganda's The Observer published on 5 December 2025 an article titled "China's Payment System Gains Ground in Africa as Afrexim, Standard Join In."
Afreximbank, Africa's multilateral trade bank, became the first major African institution to join China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), enabling direct and cheaper yuan transactions. Standard Bank Group, the continent's largest lender, followed suit. CIPS gives China an alternative to the Western world's SWIFT.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) owns 20 percent of the Standard Bank Group while the Export-Import Bank of China holds at least 6 percent of Afreximbank.
