Western sanctions have pushed Russia and Iran largely out of the global financial system. Both countries have shifted payments into the Chinese yuan, with China's alternative to SWIFT — the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) — stepping in to handle yuan-denominated flows. Volume on the network has climbed sharply in recent months.
The CIPS surge peaked alongside the onset of the war in Iran. In March 2026, the system processed a single-day total of CNY 1.22 trillion (about USD 178.5 billion) — the highest daily transfer ever recorded. Daily transaction counts in the same period exceeded 42,000. The daily average volume rose above CNY 920 billion in March 2026, up roughly 49% from CNY 619 billion in February.
CIPS's international footprint expanded in parallel. As of April 2026, the number of institutions connected to the system reached 1,791, operating in more than 190 countries and regions worldwide. The structure underscores the yuan's positioning as a SWIFT alternative not only across the Russia-Iran-China axis but also in third-country trade — particularly in sanction-sensitive commodities and energy transactions.
From a supply-chain perspective, the trend marks the acceleration of a bipolar global payments architecture. A yuan-based settlement track operating outside the SWIFT-dollar rails forces an insurance, freight and customs chain split by sanction regime; for exporters and importers, correspondent-banking design, multi-currency wallets and sanctions-screening software are rapidly becoming strategic concerns. For China, CIPS is core infrastructure for the yuan's internationalisation; as Russian and Iranian flows scale, the system is moving closer to the threshold of broader trade-partner adoption.
Key Takeaways:
1. CIPS processed CNY 1.22 trillion (~$178.5 billion) on a single day in March 2026 — the system's all-time record.
2. Daily average volume jumped from CNY 619 billion in February 2026 to over CNY 920 billion in March 2026.
3. As of April 2026 CIPS connects 1,791 institutions across more than 190 countries and regions.
4. The pivot accelerated with the onset of the war in Iran, as Russia and Iran moved off the SWIFT-dollar rails.
5. From a supply-chain perspective, multi-currency wallets, correspondent-banking design and sanctions-screening software are becoming strategic priorities.
