On July
31, Standard Bank Group and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC)
held the 2026 “China Day” in Nairobi, where Stanbic Bank Kenya Limited
officially launched the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) for RMB
transactions and completed Kenya’s first CIPS transaction. Meanwhile, Stanbic
Bank Uganda Limited announced its connection to CIPS at the first Stanbic–China
Trade Forum in Uganda, becoming the country’s first financial institution to
join the system and enabling more efficient two-way RMB settlement with the
Chinese market. The two banks’ CIPS access will further strengthen the RMB payment
and clearing network in East Africa, reduce settlement costs and exchange-rate
risks, and provide safer, more efficient and convenient financial services for
China–Africa trade and investment.
