RMB now part of the top five world payments currency

It overtook the Canadian and Australian dollar.

After nearly one year firmly positioned at #7, it has been reported that the Renminbi (RMB) has entered the top five of world payment currencies since November 2014, overtaking both the Canadian Dollar and the Australian Dollar by value.

According to a release from SWIFT, just two years ago, in January 2013, the RMB was ranked at position #13 with a share of 0.63%.

In December 2014, the RMB reached a record high share of 2.17% in global payments by value and now trails the Japanese Yen which has a share of 2.69%.

Here's more from SWIFT:

“The RMB breaking into the top five world payments currencies is an important milestone” says Wim
Raymaekers, Head of Banking Markets at SWIFT.

“It is a great testimony to the internationalisation of the RMB and confirms its transition from an “emerging” to a “business as usual” payment currency. The rise of various offshore RMB clearing centres around the world, including eight newagreements signed with the People’s Bank of China in 2014, was an important driver fuelling this growth”.

Overall, global RMB payments increased in value by 20.3% in December 2014, while the growth for
payments across all currencies was 14.9%. The RMB has been showing a consistent three digit growth over the past two years with an increase in value of payments by +321%.

Over the last year, RMB payments grew in value by 102% compared to an overall yearly growth for all currencies of 4.4%.