The National Bank of Georgia reported that Governor Natia Turnava held an online meeting with Fu Huang, President of the China International Payment System (CIPS), to review progress in 2025 cooperation and discuss future work on payment-system integration and Georgian banks’ participation in CIPS. The update highlights increased engagement between CIPS, the National Bank of Georgia and Georgia’s financial sector, including working meetings and workshops delivered by CIPS representatives. Several Georgian commercial banks have applied for direct membership in CIPS and their applications are under review; some Georgian banks already participate indirectly via correspondent Chinese banks. The National Bank of Georgia noted that the review process for direct membership applications began in 2025 for the first time and is expected to improve efficiency and remove intermediary layers in renminbi (yuan) transactions. CIPS signalled readiness to continue cooperation in the coming year with the National Bank of Georgia and Georgian commercial banks, while efforts continue to enable additional Georgian banks to access CIPS as part of diversifying cross-border payment channels.