- Ecobank Explores Yuan settlements as Africa-China Trade Shifts Away from Dollar Dependence
Ecobank, one of Africa’s biggest banks, is said to be in talks with the Bank of China to launch a direct local-currency-to-yuan settlement product for its customers by the end of this year, a move that would place one of Africa’s largest banking groups at the centre of a broader push to reduce the cost and friction of cross-border trade with China.
Jeremy Awori, Ecobank’s Group Chief Executive, told Reuters the lender wants to help clients settle directly in Chinese yuan rather than route transactions through the US dollar, reflecting both the growth in Africa-China trade and the frustrations many African businesses face with multi-step currency conversion. “We are looking at opportunities for us to settle, and instead of going through the dollar, we do it directly with the Chinese yuan,” he said.
For many African importers and small and medium-sized businesses buying from China, converting local currency into dollars before paying Chinese suppliers adds costs, erodes margins, and creates another layer of foreign-exchange exposure. A direct settlement channel would not remove currency risk altogether, but it could simplify payments and reduce transaction costs for firms already operating on thin margins.
The timing also matters as the move comes as some African markets increasingly explore alternatives to dollar-based cross-border payments, including greater use of the yuan. South Africa’s Standard Bank said in November 2025 that it had been authorised to process transactions through China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, while Kenya and Zambia have also taken steps that point to a wider willingness to use the Chinese currency in selected transactions.
For China, this fits neatly into a larger ambition to internationalise the yuan. For African banks, pragmatism outweighs ideology. The question is less about geopolitics than about how to serve a trade corridor that is growing in scale and complexity. Awori noted that many African businesses are increasingly looking to China for growth, while China’s interest in African energy, mining, oil, and gas continues to deepen.
Ecobank appears determined to position itself accordingly. In view of that, Ecobank at the Group Level is expanding its China office as business grows, although Awori did not disclose the size of the investment or the number of hires planned. He also said the bank is investing in the payment tools needed to support this shift. “You need the right tools and payment mechanisms to be able to do that. We’re investing in those,” he said.
From a NorvanReports perspective, the proposed yuan-settlement product is important not just because it offers a new payments channel but because it signals how African banking strategy is changing. Banks are no longer only financing trade; they are increasingly redesigning the infrastructure through which trade itself happens. In that sense, Ecobank is trying to move from being a participant in Africa-China commerce to becoming a more central architect of how those flows are settled.
