Standard Bank's CIPS integration signals accelerating de-dollarization across Africa, Caribbean, and Latin America

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, December 6, 2025 - The global financial order just shifted beneath Washington's feet, and most Americans didn't even notice. When South Africa's Standard Bank became the first African financial institution to integrate directly with China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) in June 2025, it wasn't merely a technical upgrade—it was a declaration of independence from dollar hegemony that reverberates far beyond the African continent.