Four commercial banks in Georgia have joined China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), according to the President of the National Bank of Georgia, Natia Turnava. Speaking in a podcast organized by Cartu Bank, Turnava said the system enables banks to process international transactions in Chinese yuan more efficiently and reflects the growing economic ties between Georgia and China.
Turnava emphasized that CIPS should not be viewed as an alternative to the SWIFT payment network. Instead, the two systems complement each other: SWIFT is primarily used for transactions in USD and EUR, while CIPS facilitates payments in yuan. She noted that more than 5,000 banks from around 180 countries participate in the CIPS network while also continuing to use SWIFT.
According to the central bank chief, Cartu Bank is among the institutions already connected to the system, along with three other Georgian banks, and additional banks may join in the future. Membership allows banks to process yuan transactions directly, faster, and at lower cost, without relying on intermediary institutions. The initiative stems from the National Bank of Georgia’s growing cooperation with the People’s Bank of China, supported by a memorandum of understanding between the two central banks.
CIPS was launched in 2015 by the People’s Bank of China to simplify international settlements in yuan. Today the system includes more than 4,900 financial institutions from 189 countries, including hundreds of banks across Europe, North America, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region, making it an increasingly important platform for global yuan-based payments.
