China’s yuan overtakes Swiss franc: SWIFT

China’s yuan has topped the Swiss franc to become the seventh most-used currency for payments worldwide, a global transaction services organization reports.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) said in a Thursday statement that the Chinese currency, also known as the renminbi (RMB), is ahead of the Swiss franc while Switzerland is traditionally regarded as a safe haven for investors.

The statement added that the market share of the yuan was 1.39 percent in January, placing it in the top 10 most-used currencies in global payments for the third consecutive month.

Hong Kong, the UK, Singapore, Taiwan and the US have been the top five offshore markets employing yuan for payments, SWIFT said.

“Looking at the first month of 2014, which was the highest payments value recorded for RMB so far, it is clear that the RMB is on its way to remaining a top 10 currency for global payments,” Asia-Pacific director of payments markets for SWIFT, Michael Moon, was quoted as saying.

“Hong Kong continues its role as the leading RMB hub,” Moon said, adding that the new offshore markets play an important role in keeping the RMB’s position “as a ‘business as usual’ world payments currency.”

Britain’s Financial Minister, George Osborne, said earlier this month that around two-thirds of yuan payments outside of China and Hong Kong happen in London.

China’s authorities have recently eased restrictions on cross-border yuan payments for trade on a trial basis in its new free-trade zone in Shanghai.

SWIFT said last December that yuan had surpassed the euro to become the second most-used currency in international trade finance.