Ecobank in yuan‑settlement talks with Bank of China amid Africa trade shift

Pan-African lender Ecobank is in talks with Bank of China to launch a direct local-currency-to-yuan settlement product for its customers by year end, its group CEO said, ‌citing rising trade and commercial ties between Africa and China.

The move by Togo-based Ecobank and the majority state-owned Chinese lender comes as some African markets explore alternatives to the dollar for cross-border payments, including the Chinese currency.

“We are looking at opportunities for us to settle with, instead of going through the dollar, we do it directly with the Chinese yuan,” Jeremy Awori told Reuters on Monday, citing many African small and medium businesses looking to China for growth.

“You need the right tools and payment mechanisms to be able to do that. We’re investing in those.”

Expanding trade ties between China and Africa have prompted major African lenders to build more efficient payment platforms. South Africa’s Standard Bank said in November it had been authorised to offer transactions through China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), making the yuan the underpinning settlement currency for its clients.

African countries have also explored alternatives to dollar-based payments, including a new home-grown payment system, Kenya’s conversionof some dollar-denominated Chinese railway loans into yuan and Zambia’s use of the Chinese currency for royalties at some mining firms.

The push dovetails with Beijing’s campaign to internationalise the yuan. China is also expanding zero trade tariffs this year for the 53 African nations it has diplomatic relations with.

“When you look at all the natural resources that exist on the continent, especially in energy, mining, oil and gas, China has also ‌got a lot of interest and investments,” Awori said.

African businesses have long complained that having to convert local currencies into dollars before paying suppliers in countries such as China adds costs and squeezes profit margins.

Ecobank is expanding its China office to capitalise on those opportunities, Awori said, without giving details on hiring numbers and investment.

Ecobank, which operates in more than 33 African nations, is paying its first dividend since 2022 this year, following strong revenue and profit growth in 2025.

Pretax profit at its corporate and investment banking arm jumped 40%, driven by mandates to restructure sovereign debt in Gabon and Benin and a financing deal for Uganda of more than 200 million euros ($235 million), with South Africa’s DBSA.

Uncertainty linked to global risks, including the Middle East war, made it difficult to give a firm outlook for this year, Awori said, but he pledged to keep driving efficiency.

“Global macros are subject to change at very short notice,” he said, adding Ecobank was seeing good growth opportunities across its businesses.

The group’s cost-to-income ratio fell by 4 percentage points last year to 48%, helping lift earnings.

“We still feel we have got more automation opportunities,” he said, adding Ecobank would make “significant” investments this year in its automated teller machines network, data centres and user apps underpinning digital lending and other services.

Ecobank has also partnered with Google to overhaul its payments software platform, Awori said. Reuters