Citi has enhanced its WorldLink payment services capability in making payments in Chinese renminbi (Rmb).

This new enhancement cuts settlement time to as little as two days, which represents an improvement of more than a week.

Until recently, Chinese Rmb was heavily regulated with trading restrictions. In 2009, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) commenced a controlled liberalisation of the currency. With the recent reforms, WorldLink has been able to extend its capabilities in making cross-border payments in this currency.

Alan Lin, head of global transaction services China, comments: “The world has been waiting for the renminbi restrictions to loosen. With WorldLink we have been able to manage Rmb payments in the context of the regulations. Now we can provide our clients with an improved offering which will allow them to cut their payments time to beneficiaries in China.”

The WorldLink solution is a non-account-based product, offering multicurrency payment solutions for corporations, financial institutions and public entities. The solution has been effecting Rmb payments to China for the past seven years. In 2010, WorldLink processed Rmb payments for over 170 clients worldwide.