CNY vs CNH vs RMB: Key Differences and Exchange Rates

CNY and CNH are not two currencies. They are one currency with two price tags.

That sounds like a technicality until you pay a supplier in Shenzhen and the rate on your invoice does not match the one on Google. Which rate did your provider use? Why is there a gap at all? Could you have asked for the better one?

Miss the difference and you will misread every renminbi quote you get.

This guide explains what CNY, CNH and RMB each mean, why two prices exist, and what that does to payments to and from mainland China. Statrys has over 10,000 business account clients, and CNY is one of the 11 currencies a Statrys account holds. Start with the names, because they cause most of the confusion.

What Are Renminbi and Yuan?

Renminbi (RMB) is the official name of mainland China's currency. It means "people's currency" in Mandarin. Yuan is the unit, the way "dollar" is the unit of US money. Shops quote prices in yuan. Banks and treasuries say renminbi. In practice the two words are interchangeable.

The symbol is ¥ and the official ISO code is CNY. An ISO code is the three-letter currency code set by the International Organization for Standardization, the one banks use to identify a currency. RMB and CNH are not ISO codes, but you will see both on quotes, invoices and payment screens.

What Are CNY and CNH?

CNY is renminbi traded inside mainland China, also called onshore renminbi. CNH is renminbi traded outside mainland China, also called offshore renminbi. The "H" stands for Hong Kong, the first and largest offshore market.

Mainland businesses use CNY for domestic spending and payments between Chinese companies. International businesses, investors and banks use CNH for cross-border payments, trade settlement and investment involving China.

The split exists because China manages how money moves across its border. Onshore CNY stays inside that system. Offshore CNH lets overseas businesses hold, pay and receive renminbi outside it.

What Are the Differences Between CNY and CNH?

The differences come down to where each one trades, who sets the rate and who can get access. The table sums it up.

For you, the practical result is simple: a quote in CNY and a quote in CNH are two different prices for the same money.

How the Offshore RMB (CNH) Market Developed

Hong Kong banks began offering renminbi accounts to personal customers in 2004. The offshore business market opened in July 2009, when China launched a pilot that let companies in five mainland cities settle cross-border trade in renminbi. Hong Kong's renminbi business moved from personal accounts to companies, and CNH trading grew from there, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's history of the market.

Hong Kong is still the centre. It handles about three-quarters of offshore renminbi payments by value, according to the SWIFT Global Currency Tracker (March 2026 edition). The UK, Singapore and the US follow, well behind. For a Hong Kong company, that means the main CNH market is local, and it is the market that prices the CNH rate on your quotes.

Cross-border renminbi payments also clear through dedicated systems such as China's CIPS clearing system. For a closer look at the mechanics, see how RMB payments work outside China.

CNY vs CNH Exchange Rate

The PBOC sets a central rate for CNY against the US dollar every trading day. Before the market opens, the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), the mainland's interbank trading platform, collects prices from market makers. It averages them to produce the rate, as the PBOC's fixing rate page explains. Since March 2014, spot CNY has been allowed to move up to 2% either side of that rate, under PBOC Public Announcement 2014 No. 5. On 30 September 2026 the fixing was 6.7351 yuan per US dollar, so spot CNY could trade between roughly 6.60 and 6.87 that day.

CNH has no fixing and no band. Offshore banks and traders set the price through supply and demand. That means CNH and CNY can quote different rates against the same currency at the same moment, and which one is weaker changes over time.

One CNY and one CNH share the same face value, but the 1:1 stops there. Convert US dollars into each and you get different amounts. Here is an example with round numbers, not live rates:

The 200-yuan gap is the price difference between the two markets, not a fee. Moving renminbi between the two markets is also not a simple swap. It has to go through channels China approves for cross-border flows, and providers may charge for it. Ask for the total cost before you send.

How the Dual RMB Rates Affect Money Transfers to and From China

Which rate you get depends on which side of the border your money is on when it converts. Cross-border rules also make some routes slower or costlier than others.

A CNAPS code identifies a bank branch inside China's domestic payment system. Payments to mainland accounts often need it alongside the SWIFT code, so ask your supplier for both. Our guide on how to find a CNAPS code shows where to look.

Not every provider handles CNY payments, and those that do differ on rate and fees. Before you send, run this three-step check:

1. Ask whether the payment settles in CNY or CNH.
2. Ask for the rate and the fee as one all-in number, then compare it with the mid-market rate. The mid-market rate is the midpoint between the buy and sell prices, the one you see on Google.
3. Get the beneficiary's full details: SWIFT code, CNAPS code and the exact account name.

If the payment is for goods, the currency choice matters as much as the rate. Our guide to choosing between RMB and USD for Chinese suppliers walks through the trade-off.

Paying and Receiving CNY With Statrys

Statrys is a payment service provider licensed as a Money Service Operator in Hong Kong (No. 19-02-02726). A Statrys multi-currency business account in Hong Kong holds 11 currencies, CNY among them, under one account number. FX between major currencies, CNY included, starts from 0.1%. 96% of clients opened their accounts within 3 business days.

Here is what moving CNY costs, taken from the Statrys pricing page:

Statrys business accounts come with a dedicated account manager. Support runs weekdays from 10:00 to 19:00 Hong Kong time by phone, WhatsApp and email. If a counterparty specifically asks for CNH, confirm the settlement currency with your account manager before you send.