央行印发新规！明年2月1日起正式实施！

Core Viewpoint - The People's Bank of China has issued revised rules for the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), effective from February 1, 2026, to adapt to the rapid development of CIPS and enhance risk prevention measures [1] Group 1: Regulatory Framework - The revised rules aim to standardize the operations of CIPS and ensure the forward-looking and scientific nature of regulatory documents [1] - The rules apply to CIPS operating institutions and participants, with the operating institutions being approved by the People's Bank of China to provide cross-border RMB clearing and settlement services [2] Group 2: Participant Structure - CIPS participants are categorized into direct and indirect participants, with direct participants holding CIPS accounts and having a CIPS bank number [3] - Direct participants include banks and certain financial market infrastructure institutions, while indirect participants do not hold accounts but can conduct business through direct participants [3] Group 3: Account Management - Direct participants can only open one zero-balance account in CIPS, which does not accrue interest and cannot be overdrawn, ensuring that the end-of-day balance is zero [4][5] - The rules stipulate that CIPS accounts belong to the direct participants and not to the operating institutions, enhancing the safety of funds [5] Group 4: Business Processing - The new rules specify operational requirements for different types of participants, with bank direct participants processing payments based on customer instructions or through indirect participants [6] - Financial market infrastructure direct participants must organize or participate in fund settlements through CIPS according to their transaction systems and are prohibited from expanding service scope without consent [7] - The revisions are designed to address the challenges faced by the previous rules and to better accommodate the growing scale and management needs of CIPS participants [7]