China has achieved a significant milestone in digital currency adoption with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) completing the country's first digital yuan cross-border payment to Singapore. According to Mobile Payment Network, the transaction was jointly completed by ICBC Shanghai and ICBC Singapore through the newly upgraded Digital Currency Express (CBETS) platform, settling nearly 10 million yuan in import shipping fees with same-day fund delivery. The payment covered costs for W Company, a subsidiary of a centrally owned enterprise's trading platform that regularly imports iron ore and pays overseas shipping charges.
The Digital Currency Express platform was built by the International Operation Center of the digital renminbi under the guidance of the People's Bank of China's Digital Currency Research Institute. As reported by Mobile Payment Network, the platform was upgraded in 2026 after China's digital yuan infrastructure was reorganized, combining the previous cross-border payment platform, blockchain service platform, and digital asset platform into a single settlement network. The platform supports both centralized and blockchain-based systems while using ISO 20022 messaging standards, making it compatible with existing international payment infrastructure and allowing financial institutions to process barcode payments, remittances, trade settlements and investment-related transactions.
The latest transaction expands ICBC's international digital yuan infrastructure beyond Singapore. According to Mobile Payment Network, the bank has now established integrated digital yuan payment and collection services with both Singapore and Laos through the CBETS platform, creating a unified cross-border settlement framework linking its domestic and overseas branches. On June 16, 2026, the International Operation Center signed direct participant service agreements with the first group of 26 financial institutions, including ICBC Asia, Bank of China Hong Kong, Standard Chartered China and several overseas ICBC branches operating in Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Macau and Qatar.
The transaction builds on China's broader efforts to expand digital yuan use beyond domestic payments. Since January 1, 2026, banks were allowed to pay interest on verified digital yuan wallets as part of the transition from electronic cash to an interest-bearing digital deposit currency. The central bank announced plans to widen cross-border pilots involving Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. ICBC has introduced several cross-border payment services, including the "Hu e Hui" international remittance service that reduced processing times from about one hour to five minutes, and a cross-border e-commerce payment solution with Yiwu Pay.
The transaction comes as Chinese policymakers continue positioning digital currencies as part of future international payment networks. According to Mobile Payment Network, ICBC plans to continue working with the International Operation Center to expand standardized digital yuan settlement services across cross-border e-commerce, offshore trade, commodity financing and international logistics payments. Speaking at the Lujiazui Forum in June, Wang Xin, director-general of the People's Bank of China's Research Bureau, said stablecoins could play a larger role in cross-border payments while central bank digital currencies deserve continued international cooperation as countries explore new cross-border payment technologies.
