Ghana News: Ghana’s state-owned GCB Bank plans to join China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), Bank of Ghana Second Deputy Governor Matilda Asante-Asiedu told exporters in Accra on 14 October 2026. The move extends yuan trade payments beyond Stanbic Bank Ghana and puts fresh attention on Nigeria’s slower currency swap with China.
Key facts
- On 14 October 2026, at a Bank of Ghana meeting with exporters in Accra, Deputy Governor Matilda Asante-Asiedu announced that GCB Bank intends to connect to China’s CIPS network, Ecofin Agency reported on 16 October.
- Stanbic Bank Ghana became the first Ghanaian bank with direct CIPS access in August 2026, after Bank of Ghana approval, letting eligible importers pay Chinese suppliers in yuan from cedi accounts.
- Ghana-China trade reached a record US$14.1 billion in 2025, up 19.3%, according to Chinese Ambassador Cong Song.
- Nigeria relies on a 15 billion yuan (about US$2 billion) swap line between the Central Bank of Nigeria and the People’s Bank of China, renewed for three years in December 2024. Abuja wants it expanded to the equivalent of US$10 billion.
What did the Bank of Ghana announce?
The announcement came at the close of a nationwide campaign on the central bank’s revised Letter of Commitment guidelines, run with the Ghana Shippers’ Authority. Asante-Asiedu called export proceeds “a strategic national asset that helps stabilise the currency and finance imports”, The Rio Times reported, and Citi Newsroom quoted her warning that “every dollar of exports that fails to come to Ghana has many implications.”
The GCB news was the forward-looking part. According to Ecofin Agency, talks date back to October 2025, when GCB proposed partnerships with Chinese financial institutions in Beijing covering yuan settlement through CIPS and cross-border trade finance.
Governor Johnson Asiama had already flagged it. At the 132nd Monetary Policy Committee briefing in early October, he confirmed the Stanbic arrangement and said GCB was developing a similar service. Speaking of Ghanaian importers, he said: “They can actually pay in Ghana Cedis right from here.”
How yuan trade payments work in Ghana
The mechanics are simple. A trader in Accra pays in cedis. The bank converts directly and the Chinese supplier receives yuan, without the old two-step trip through the US dollar. Stanbic says eligible payments submitted with full documentation by 2 p.m. GMT can settle by the next business day.
Stanbic Bank Ghana Chief Executive Kwamina Asomaning said CIPS gives a more direct route to Chinese counterparties and reduces the need for US correspondent or intermediary banks. The bank is careful on two points. CIPS is described as an additional channel for eligible yuan transactions and does not replace SWIFT, which still handles dollar, euro and sterling payments. Cheaper imports are not guaranteed either, since costs still depend on exchange rates, fees and trade-finance charges.
The demand is there. China supplied about 22% of Ghana’s imports in 2024, Nigerian Tribune reported, and China remained Ghana’s largest trading partner in 2025, Xinhua quoted Ambassador Cong Song as saying in May. Ghana mostly sells China commodities such as oil and manganese ore.
Ghana and Nigeria: two routes to the same goal
Nigeria, a BRICS partner country, chose a different design years earlier. Its approach works between central banks rather than through retail accounts (more on our Nigeria News page).
| Ghana | Nigeria | |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Commercial banks connect directly to CIPS | Central bank currency swap with the People’s Bank of China |
| Start | Stanbic Bank Ghana, August 2026; GCB Bank planned | 2018; renewed December 2024 for three years |
| Size | Transaction by transaction, no fixed cap reported | 15 billion yuan (about US$2 billion); target US$10 billion equivalent |
| Trade with China | US$14.1 billion in 2025 (Chinese embassy) | About US$23 billion, with imports above US$20 billion (BusinessDay) |
| Main user | Eligible importers with cedi accounts | Banks drawing on swap liquidity |
Reports differ on the original size of Nigeria’s 2018 line. Premium Times and The ICIR give 15 billion yuan, while BusinessDay and Nigerian Tribune cite 16 billion yuan. On use, the picture is more consistent: Joseph Tegbe, Director-General of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership, said in March 2026 that “businesses have told us the current threshold is insufficient”, and BusinessDay described the line as underused and slowing towards the end of 2025.
Why the BRICS angle matters
Local-currency settlement is a standing BRICS agenda item, and yuan trade payments in West Africa show it reaching bank back offices. China’s zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries, in force since 1 May 2026, adds a second push: Ghanaian cocoa previously faced tariffs of 8% to 22%, according to Ambassador Cong. For the wider growth context, see our coverage of the IMF October 2026 outlook for BRICS economies and the Economy section.
Our view: Ghana’s bank-led model looks more useful to small traders than Nigeria’s central-bank swap, because an importer can use it without queueing for allocations. Its limit is the trade gap. Ghana and Nigeria both buy far more from China than they sell, so yuan inflows will lag yuan demand unless exports to China grow. GCB’s entry will show whether the channel scales beyond a pilot.
FAQ
What is CIPS?
The Cross-Border Interbank Payment System is China’s network for clearing and settling yuan payments between banks in different countries. It runs alongside SWIFT and is not a replacement for it.
Can any Ghanaian business pay Chinese suppliers in cedis?
Only eligible transactions with full documentation, through banks connected to CIPS. Stanbic Bank Ghana offers the service now, and GCB Bank plans to join.
Has Nigeria expanded its swap with China?
Not as of 18 October 2026. The 15 billion yuan line renewed in December 2024 remains in place, and the government said in March 2026 it was seeking an increase to the equivalent of US$10 billion.
Sources: Ecofin Agency, Citi Newsroom, The ICIR, Xinhua via Belt and Road Portal, BusinessDay, Premium Times.
