Deutsche Claims China FX Payments First

Deutsche Bank says it has become the first European Union bank to fully implement the recently liberalised framework from China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) regarding foreign currency payments.

SAFE’s 1+6” foreign currency policy framework have significantly enhanced the foreign currency payment operations of corporates in China, Deutsche says, adding that by consolidating various existing facilitation measures into the new regulatory structure, the bank has further enhanced the standardisation and consistency of its transaction operations. For large multinational corporations with centralised treasury management models, the new framework enables a unified, efficient, and streamlined model for cross-border payments and FX conversions across China. It also allows companies to transition from previous processes, significantly reducing compliance costs and enabling them to better capture the benefits of regulatory liberalisation.

Under the new framework, eligible corporates can complete cross-border transactions by submitting payment instructions to the bank, with processing times reduced from several days to just a few minutes, Deutsche says. At the same time, Deutsche Bank China is applying fintech tools to enable real-time transaction risk monitoring without disrupting client operations, striking a balance between regulatory compliance and client experience.

For transactions that still require supporting documents, Deutsche Bank China leverages its electronic documentation platform to automate submission, matching, and verification processes. This significantly reduces turnaround times and further enhances the efficiency of cross-border foreign currency operations, it says.

“The implementation further strengthens our ability to deliver local execution, risk control, and compliance capabilities for our multinational clients,” says Rose Zhu, Deutsche Bank China chief country officer. “It will help them manage their cross-border operations and treasury functions in China more efficiently.”