CNY (onshore Chinese yuan) and CNH (offshore yuan) are the same currency in face value but operate in two parallel ecosystems. The settlement difference often surprises corporates new to China-bound payments.
CNY is the onshore yuan, regulated by the People's Bank of China (PBoC). All onshore CNY payments clear through CIPS (Cross-border Interbank Payment System) and require PBoC documentation review for cross-border flows. The compliance overhead adds 1-3 days even for routine commercial wires.
CNH is offshore yuan, traded freely in Hong Kong, London, Singapore and other offshore centres. CNH settlement happens through Hong Kong CHATS (the HKD/CNH RTGS) and is operationally similar to any G10 currency. Same-day or T+1 settlement is the norm.
Exchange rates: CNY and CNH often diverge slightly because of capital-control friction. The CNH rate is set by free-market trading offshore; CNY is managed by PBoC within a daily fixing band.
Use case for CNY: payments to Chinese counterparties that prefer or require onshore settlement (most state-owned enterprises, many tax flows). Use case for CNH: most international trade, FX hedging, capital-market settlements where speed and flexibility matter.
Practical tip: if the Chinese counterparty has both onshore and offshore accounts, ask for the CNH account number. Same value to them, 2 days faster for you, no additional FX cost on most days.
For tracking via Ohmyfin: both are visible on GPI but the CIPS internal stages are not exposed — you will see arrival at the Chinese correspondent and then the credit confirmation, with the multi-day gap representing the PBoC review.
Yes — both are renminbi. The distinction is settlement venue and regulatory regime, not the underlying currency.
There are PBoC-set conversion windows and quotas. For larger amounts, conversion takes additional documentation. Most counterparties choose the venue that matches their normal flow.
CNH settles at Hong Kong banks that are integrated with the global USD correspondent network. CNY requires onshore CIPS plus PBoC compliance which adds days.
PBoC operates IBPS for domestic instant within China, but it is not open to non-Chinese banks for cross-border.