The new payment route is being offered by Stanbic Bank Ghana through CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System), China’s payment infrastructure for transactions denominated in yuan. (Stanbic Bank⁠)

Stanbic says businesses and individuals in Ghana can use their existing accounts to make eligible yuan payments directly to China without opening a separate yuan account in every case. Stanbic Bank Ghana — CIPS payment service⁠

How the payment works

A Ghanaian importer can start the transaction through an existing Stanbic account, select Chinese yuan as the payment currency and provide the documents required for the international payment.

Stanbic says eligible payments submitted with complete documentation by 2 PM GMT can be processed the same day and settle by the next business day. (Stanbic Bank⁠)

The main difference is what happens between Ghana and China.

Traditionally, many payments between the two countries have passed through intermediary or correspondent banks, often involving the US dollar before the Chinese supplier ultimately receives payment.

CIPS provides a more direct route for eligible yuan transactions, which Stanbic says can reduce delays, improve payment visibility and potentially lower some transaction costs. Stanbic Bank Ghana — explanation of the Ghana-China CIPS system⁠

This does not mean Ghana has abandoned the dollar

The arrangement is an additional payment option, not a replacement for the US dollar or the global SWIFT payment network.

Payments in dollars, euros, pounds and other currencies will continue through existing systems. CIPS applies specifically to eligible transactions being settled in Chinese yuan. (Stanbic Bank⁠)

That distinction matters because the development could easily be interpreted as Ghana replacing the dollar with the yuan.

It is not.

Instead, Ghanaian businesses trading directly with China now have another way of settling those transactions without automatically using the dollar as the middle currency.

Nigeria has already tried something similar

Nigeria and China took a related step in 2018, when the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) and PBoC (People’s Bank of China) signed a bilateral currency swap agreement.

The agreement was designed partly to make yuan available to Nigerian banks for trade with China and reduce the need for Nigerian importers to obtain US dollars before paying Chinese suppliers.

Under the original arrangement, the two central banks agreed to exchange up to 15 billion yuan and ₦720 billion, then worth about $2.5 billion. (State House⁠)

The Nigerian government said at the time that one of the main goals was to reduce pressure on the dollar-naira exchange rate and make Nigeria-China trade faster and more convenient. Nigeria State House — Nigeria-China currency swap factsheet⁠

Ghana’s approach is different in structure. Rather than relying only on a central-bank currency swap, the CIPS system gives commercial-bank customers a more direct route for settling eligible payments in yuan.

What this means

For Ghanaian businesses buying from China, the immediate benefit is straightforward: the dollar no longer has to sit in the middle of every eligible transaction.

That could reduce some conversion costs and payment delays, although the actual savings will depend on exchange rates, bank charges and the type of transaction.

It also reflects a wider change in Africa-China trade: businesses are gaining more ways to settle transactions directly in yuan instead of automatically routing payments through the US dollar.

The dollar remains dominant in international trade.

But for companies doing regular business with China, Ghana’s new payment route gives them another practical option.