Standard Chartered’s China division has joined the digital renminbi business pilot, making it one of the first foreign banks to do so.

Standard Chartered, in collaboration with City Bank Clearing Services, announced the introduction of exchange services for China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan or e-CNY.

This initiative aims to provide Standard Chartered’s customers access to the digital yuan’s interconnection platform, facilitating essential functions like recharge and redemption services.

This strategic step is also part of the bank’s broader effort to engage with emerging digital financial technologies.

The digital yuan has already made significant strides in digital currencies, with transaction volumes reaching  1.8 trillion yuan (approximately US$250 billion) by the end of June.