Stanbic IBTC launches direct Naira-to-RMB payment platform

Stanbic IBTC Bank has launched its Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), allowing Nigerian businesses to initiate transactions in Naira and settle directly in Renminbi (RMB). The bank launched the platform in Lagos yesterday at the CIPS Go-Live Ceremony.

The system cuts transaction processing from several days to hours, reduces exchange-rate exposure and adds predictability to the Nigeria-China trade corridor, according to the bank. The CBN described the rollout as a landmark development.

Direct link to China

Stanbic IBTC Bank CEO Wole Adeniyi said the group’s Standard Bank Group is a direct participant in China’s cross-border interbank payment system. “What really made it possible for us to do this is because our group, Standard Bank Group, is a direct participant in the China cross-border interbank payment system,” he said. “As a direct participant, we are able to connect and bring this service seamlessly to our clients in Nigeria.”

Adeniyi said the platform would drive business between Nigeria and China as part of Stanbic IBTC and Standard Bank Group’s goal of strengthening transactions and connection between the two countries.

Faster settlement

Head, Transaction Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Jesuseun Fatoyinbo, said CIPS supports faster, efficient and reliable cross-border RMB clearing and settlement. He described CIPS as a purpose-built clearing and settlement rail for international RMB payment. “It is really about connecting you directly into that destination. It is like a direct flight out of Lagos for your payment into China,” he said. “And why this is important is not just about the payment itself, but about the commercial opportunity behind the payment.”

Fatoyinbo said CIPS creates a faster, cost-efficient alternative. “So while we continue to have multi-city flights or connecting flights into multi-city, CIPS comes as the direct flight into China.” He said the market infrastructure does both clearing and settlement, creates efficiency, reduces cost, eliminates complexity and introduces simplicity.

According to him, what took the traditional rail between 48 and 72 hours to accomplish, CIPS can get done in 24 hours. “Overall, it is that we are delivering real value that delivers speed, that makes the process and the experience simpler, but more importantly, delivers tangible value in terms of financial benefits to clients,” Fatoyinbo said.

CBN backing

Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Aderinola Shonekan, described the rollout as a landmark development. She was represented by an Assistant Director, Trade and Exchange, Lagos, CBN, Nnenna Ann Ezekannagha. Shonekan said Nigerian importers and entrepreneurs had faced systemic hurdles from transaction delays, multiple currency conversions and high settlement volatility tied to over-reliance on third-party intermediary currencies. She noted that China is one of Nigeria’s largest trading partners.

Shonekan said Stanbic IBTC’s integration into China’s CIPS would provide a definitive solution to those bottlenecks. “By creating a direct, seamless financial bridge that allows Nigerian businesses to initiate transactions in local currency and settle directly in RMB, Stanbic IBTC is actively changing the landscape of cross-border commerce,” she said.

“From a regulatory standpoint, the Trade and Exchange Department views this initiative as a commendable private sector response to the apex bank’s policy of trade facilitation and currency diversification,” Shonekan said. “We commend Stanbic IBTC and the Standard Bank Group for leveraging their expansive African footprint and strategic international alliances to deliver this solution to the market.”

“By empowering Nigerian businesses to transact directly with their Chinese counterparts with speed, clarity, and confidence, you have demonstrated true leadership in trade facilitation,” she said. “As we celebrate this rollout, the Central Bank of Nigeria reiterates its commitment to maintaining a sound, supportive regulatory environment for innovations that advance financial inclusion, streamline trade infrastructure, and safeguard banking stability.” She also said: “We encourage Nigerian importers, manufacturers, and trade enterprises to fully.”

For Nigerian importers and manufacturers, the platform promises fewer currency conversions and shorter settlement cycles when paying Chinese suppliers. That could lower transaction costs and reduce exposure to exchange-rate swings in the Nigeria-China trade corridor.