OREANDA-NEWS. February 06, 2013. Since 2011, ICBC is the first bank in China to work with banks in Taiwan to launch USD And RMB remittance service enabling direct money transfers between China and Taiwan. Direct remittances, well received by corporate clients and personal customers in China and Taiwan, can be credited into payee accounts in one day without the involvement of third party. According to statistics, as of today, ICBC has finalized USD 10 billion and RMB 3 billion of cross-strait direct remittance, reported the press-centre of ICBC. 

Trade between mainland and Taiwan used to be settled in USD, hence, mainly handled by American banks. Due to the time lag and additional charge, the cost was high. In 2011 when commercial banks in Taiwan were permitted to open USD and RMB clearing accounts in the head office of mainland banks, cross-strait direct remittance began to emerge. In August, 2011, ICBC and Bank Sinopac jointly launched "One-day Cross-Strait USD Remittance" service, marking the beginning of remittances between China and Taiwan available to beneficiaries within one business day. Compared with remittances via American banks, ICBC's direct remittances are faster and cheaper, saving 70% banking charge for each remittance. As cross-strait trade is settled in RMB, ICBC and Bank Sinopac jointly launched "One-day Cross-Strait RMB Remittance" service in May 2012 to facilitate RMB remittances across the Taiwan Strait.

ICBC is committed to the cross-strait economic and financial exchange and cooperation, said an executive with the Bank. ICBC joined Taiwan banks to provide best-quality services to Taiwanese companies so as to promote cross-strait financial cooperation. As of end-2012, ICBC has established correspondent banking relationship with 39 Taiwan banks, handling 195,900 international settlements in 2012 totaling USD 70.3 billion.

As the cross-strait trade develops, financial cooperation will be the most dynamic with huge prospect. Especially the use of RMB for international settlement has been increasing and the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation on Cross-Strait Currency Clearing, it is believed that RMB trade settlements and volume between China and Taiwan will gain momentum. In the next step, ICBC will continue leveraging its advantages to cooperate with Taiwan banks in order to achieve win-win and promote cross-strait financial and economic development.