China has successfully completed its first cross-border payment to Singapore using the digital yuan, marking a significant milestone in the expansion of the central bank digital currency's (CBDC) international infrastructure. The transaction, processed through the Digital Currency Express (CBETS) platform, involved nearly 10 million yuan in import shipping fees and was settled on the same day, bypassing traditional intermediary banks.
The payment was executed jointly by the Shanghai branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and ICBC Singapore on behalf of W Company, a subsidiary of a state-owned trading platform that regularly imports iron ore. By using the digital yuan, the settlement reduced operational complexity, cut foreign exchange costs, and provided greater transparency throughout the transfer process.
The CBETS platform, upgraded in 2026 under the People's Bank of China's Digital Currency Research Institute, integrates cross-border payments, blockchain services, and digital asset functions into a single network. It supports ISO 20022 messaging standards and allows overseas financial institutions to connect via a Hong Kong access point, enabling multiple settlement services through one connection.
This transaction is part of China's broader push to internationalize the digital yuan. Authorities have expanded cross-border pilots into Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, while ICBC has launched additional services like the Hu e Hui remittance using the multilateral CBDC bridge, reducing transfer times to just five minutes. The bank plans to extend standardized settlement tools to e-commerce, offshore trade, and logistics.
