Georgia explores cooperation with China’s CIPS

The President of the National Bank of Georgia, Natia Turnava, met with the President of the China Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) to discuss strengthening financial cooperation and enhancing Georgia’s access to the global yuan-based payment network.

According to an official statement from the National Bank on Thursday, the talks focused on opportunities for collaboration between Georgian financial institutions and CIPS, with the aim of simplifying cross-border payments and facilitating smoother transactions with China.

“Georgia’s payment and settlement systems are continuously evolving. Cooperation with CIPS will significantly ease payments, transfers and transactions between our countries and bolster Georgia’s strategic position in the Middle Corridor,” Turnava said.

CIPS, launched by China in 2015, serves as a cross-border financial messaging and payment platform for transactions conducted in yuan. It has been promoted as a partial alternative to the SWIFT system, which is headquartered in Belgium and supports transactions in multiple currencies across nearly every country.

While SWIFT remains the dominant global financial communication network - processing over 40 million messages daily - CIPS has grown in importance amid rising geopolitical tensions and efforts by some countries to reduce reliance on Western-controlled infrastructure.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several major Russian banks were cut off from SWIFT. In a move echoing that precedent, the European Parliament on 9 July 2025 adopted a resolution urging the EU and its member states to consider suspending Georgia’s access to SWIFT, along with potential sectoral sanctions, in response to concerns over the Georgian Dream government.