2/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  For instance, the interbank payment system CIPS (Cross-border Interbank Payment System) makes the clearing and settlement of cross-border renminbi payments possible. CIPS was launched in October 2015 with 19 direct participants. By August 2018, no less than 31 financial institutions were direct participants, with 750 financial institutions taking part indirectly.
CIPS clearly demonstrates the importance of international standardisation in an increasingly globalised economy, given that CIPS is based on what is known as the ISO 20022 standard, which is making great strides in European payments as well. The more internationally operating institutions use this standard, the simpler it will be to make use of CIPS internationally, which will benefit the internationalisation of the renminbi.