China's international payment system said to be ready for launch

The China International Payment System (CIPS) for processing cross-border yuan transactions is ready and could launch as early as September, Reuters reported, citing three unnamed sources. The system’s launch would remove one of the biggest hurdles to internationalizing the yuan and could greatly increase global usage of the currency by cutting transaction costs and processing times. CIPS, now being tested at 13 Chinese banks and seven subsidiaries of foreign banks according to one of the sources, would replace a patchwork of existing networks that make processing renminbi payments a more cumbersome process.