The International Air Transport Association (IATA) will include the Chinese renminbi (CNY), or yuan, as a settlement currency in its IATA Clearing House (ICH) from December 2025, marking a significant step toward easing financial transactions for airlines operating in China.
The addition, following a pilot phase in November 2025 with China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, will allow carriers and suppliers to settle payments in renminbi — reducing currency exchange risks, simplifying local transactions, and lowering overall costs, the trade association for the world's airlines said on Wednesday.
The ICH is a global financial system that facilitates the settlement of accounts between airlines and their industry partners, such as travel agents, airports and other service providers.
Instead of each company making thousands of separate payments to others, the ICH acts as a central intermediary. It collects all invoices, calculates what each participant owes or is owed, and then settles the net balance in a chosen currency.
"We welcome IATA's decision to add the Renminbi as a settlement currency. This is a positive development for the air transport industry in China. Avoiding costly and multiple currency conversions will speed up settlement and reduce currency exchange risk," said Sun Yuquan, Chief Financial Officer of Air China, which chairs the China Airline Committee and has been a strong advocate for the move.
With the Renminbi's inclusion, ICH will now offer settlements in eight currencies, joining the US dollar, euro, British pound, Swiss franc, Singapore dollar, Australian dollar and Japanese yen.
Frederic Leger, IATA's Senior Vice President for Products & Services, said the move reflects IATA's commitment to improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness for its members.
"Enabling settlement in renminbi through the ICH helps meet that need. It's an important investment in the ICH which will deliver an enhanced service to our member airlines with no additional cost," he said.
The ICH, which processes more than USD 63.8 billion annually for 581 airlines and related companies — including 33 operating in China — serves as a central hub for fast, secure and cost-efficient settlements across the air transport value chain.
