CNY
CNY is the official ISO 4217 currency code for renminbi. In financial-market discussions, CNY also commonly refers to the onshore RMB market and exchange rate inside Mainland China.
CNY is what appears in the currency field of a payment instruction, a bank statement or an FX quote when the currency is renminbi. Because it is the only ISO 4217 code for the currency, banks and payment systems use CNY even when the transaction is priced or settled offshore. That is why a provider can quote "USD/CNY" on screen while actually buying offshore RMB for you.
In market usage, CNY also names the onshore market: renminbi traded inside Mainland China through the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, around a daily central parity rate set each morning. The onshore spot rate may move within a band of 2% either side of that parity. That onshore price is distinct from the offshore CNH price, and the gap between them is the CNY–CNH spread.
For an importer, the practical question is which CNY you are being quoted. A Mainland bank converting a supplier's incoming dollars will use an onshore rate. A provider outside China funding an RMB payment will usually use an offshore rate. Ask the provider which market its quote is based on before comparing it with another provider's figure. It is also worth asking whether the quoted rate is executable or only indicative.
In practice
Seeing CNY on a quote does not tell you which market the rate comes from. Two providers can both quote USD/CNY while pricing from different onshore and offshore markets.
Example
An importer compares two quotes for RMB 1,000,000. Provider A quotes USD/CNY 7.1200 based on the offshore market; Provider B quotes 7.1050 from an onshore conversion by the supplier's bank. The 0.0150 difference is about USD 296 on this payment, before either provider's fees are counted.
Commonly confused with
| Term | How it differs |
|---|---|
| CNH | CNY is the official code and the onshore market; CNH is a market convention for the offshore price, not a separate ISO code. |
See also
- RenminbiRenminbi is the official name of the currency of the People’s Republic of China. RMB is the common abbreviation, while yuan is the unit in which renminbi amounts are counted.
- CNHCNH is the market convention used to identify renminbi traded and held outside Mainland China, particularly in Hong Kong. CNH is not a separate sovereign currency or an independent ISO 4217 currency code.
- Onshore RMBOnshore RMB refers to renminbi circulating within Mainland China’s domestic banking and financial system. It is generally associated with CNY pricing, Mainland liquidity and China’s foreign-exchange and capital-control framework.
- CNY–CNH SpreadThe CNY–CNH spread is the difference between the onshore and offshore RMB exchange rates. It can reflect differences in liquidity, market expectations, funding conditions and restrictions on movement between the two markets.