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The growth in trade between Africa and China has created more opportunities for businesses on both sides, but paying Chinese suppliers in their preferred currency can still present a challenge for African businesses.
To address this obstacle, cross-border payments platform Grey has expanded its payout network to support the Chinese Yuan (CNY) payout, allowing individuals and businesses across its operating markets to send payments directly in Chinese currency.
According to the company, the Chinese Yuan payout allows Grey users to send funds directly to both personal and business bank accounts in China through bank transfers. The development allows Grey users across its supported markets, including Africa and other emerging markets, to pay their Chinese partners directly from their existing USD, EUR, GBP, and stablecoin balances, giving users the option to convert and send funds without first holding a yuan balance, cutting costs and eradicating delays.
This new payout option enables users to send between 50 CNY and 21,000 CNY per transaction at a flat fee of $2.80. Transfers are typically completed within 24 hours from Monday to Friday, subject to a 10:00 GMT cut-off time.
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Speaking on the development, Idorenyin Obong, CEO and co-founder of Grey, said the company wants to make the financial infrastructure connecting users to China more closely reflect the growing commercial relationship between China and other markets.
“Africans are already trading with China at scale, as importers, exporters, travelers and students. Then, I think about the people who used to wait days, sometimes not knowing if their money had even landed with their supplier, just hoping the person on the other end was trustworthy. That uncertainty slows business. By making Chinese yuan accessible through both Grey and Grey Business, we want Africans to be able to trust the corridor they’re transacting in, the same way they would trust a local transfer. China isn’t a foreign, hard-to-reach market anymore. It’s a market Africans already live and work in every day, and we are making sure the financial infrastructure reflects that reality.” said Idorenyin Obong, CEO and Co-founder of Grey.
Grey said the expansion is designed to make payments into China more accessible for users who engaged in cross-border trade, commerce, travel and other activities involving China. The feature targets a broad base of users from small importers and e-commerce sellers sourcing from China, to larger businesses managing recurring supplier payments, as well as individuals with personal or travel-related needs tied to China. The expansion reflects Grey’s broader vision of making cross-border financial services more accessible, enabling individuals and businesses to move beyond the limitations of their local markets and participate more easily in the global economy.
What you should know
This comes as bilateral trade between Africa and China surges to $207 billion in the first half of 2026, according to figures disclosed by China’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, boosted by the rollout of China’s zero-tariff policy for African exports.
The increase in trade is creating more demand for financial services that support payments between African individuals and businesses and their Chinese counterparts, particularly as businesses source products, equipment and services from China.
China remains a major source of machinery, electronics, manufactured products and other goods imported into Africa, while African businesses and exporters are interacting frequently with the Chinese markets. The growing trade relationship means that more African businesses need to pay Chinese suppliers, manufacturers and service providers, increasing the importance of payment channels that can support transactions in the Chinese currency.
Grey’s addition of Chinese yuan support comes as Africa and China seek to deepen bilateral trade and investment, with both governments increasingly focused on creating mechanisms that can make cross-border commerce easier. The latest development from Grey brings this principle into a digital cross-border payments platform, giving its users a way to make yuan bank transfers to personal and business accounts across China. For African businesses importing goods from China, this means they can use their USD, EUR, GBP or stablecoin balances on Grey to fund yuan payouts, rather than having to separately source and hold yuan before making a payment.
About Grey
Grey is at the forefront of providing secure and convenient global banking solutions to meet the needs of customers and businesses. Grey holds a Money Service Business license from FINTRAC in Canada, and FinCEN in the USA, and our primary focus is on emerging markets. Our range of services enables individuals and businesses to easily own and manage multi-currency accounts. This includes currency exchange, sending and receiving payments to and from over 170 countries, as well as access to virtual cards.
