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Currency Internationalization, payment infrastructures and central banks: An institutional analysis of renminbi internationalization

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  • Zucker-Marques, Marina

Abstract

This study explores the role of central banks in designing cross-border payment infrastructure as part of a broader agenda of currency internationalization, focusing on the Chinese experience from 2008 to 2023. Based on primary data- including descriptive statistics and interviews with senior officials from the People's Bank of China and staff from Chinese commercial banks – and triangulating information from secondary literature and official documents, the article traces the evolution of the renminbi's cross-border payment network comparing these developments with the early internationalization stages of the U.S. dollar. China's strategy is characterized as 'imitate and innovate,' where the renminbi's payment network development mirrors, to some extent, the institutional frameworks underpinning the dollar's global use. However, it also exhibits notable differences in public sector involvement and pace of development. This comparison indicates that, for late- industrializers, central bank plays a more pronounced role in jumpstarting a currency internationalization process. Moreover, this article also contributes to the international currency literature by demonstrating how payment infrastructures can aid in enhancing a country's external resilience through currency internationalization, without necessitating the complete liberalization of the capital account.

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  • Zucker-Marques, Marina, 2025. "Currency Internationalization, payment infrastructures and central banks: An institutional analysis of renminbi internationalization," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:73:y:2025:i:pa:s0275531924003647
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102571
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; currency internationalization; institutional structure; USA; international payment system;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System

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