Recent SWIFT data shows that the Chinese renminbi (RMB) has overtaken the euro as the second most used currency after the US dollar in collections and letter of credit (L/C) transactions.

RMB usage grew from an activity share of 1.89 per cent in January 2012 to 8.66 per cent in October 2013, still ranking substantially behind the US dollar, which remains the leading currency with a share of 81.08 per cent.

Euro overtaken

The RMB overtook the euro, which dropped from 7.87 per cent in January 2012 to 6.64 per cent in October 2013 and is now in third place.

The top five countries using RMB for trade finance in October 2013 were China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany and Australia.

"The RMB is clearly a top currency for trade finance globally and even more so in Asia, as shown by SWIFT's business intelligence statistics on the pace at which China's exporters and importers and their counterparts use the RMB for L/Cs", head of payments and trade markets, Asia Pacific, SWIFT, Franck de Praetere, said in a statement.

RMB payments

In October 2013, the RMB remained stable in its position as the twelfth payments currency of the world, with a slightly decreased activity share of 0.84 per cent compared with 0.86 per cent in September 2013.

Overall, RMB payments increased in value by 1.5 per cent in October 2013, while the growth for all payments currencies was at 4.6 per cent.

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