The ascent of the Chinese currency was put in doubt after data showed its share of global payments fell last year.
The renminbi accounted for 1.68% of international payments by value in December, according to financial messaging service Swift, making it the sixth most-used currency that month.
The renminbi now trails the Canadian dollar, which is in fifth, a turnaround from December 2015, when the renminbi was the fifth most-used currency with a 2.31% share of payments.
“The decrease in renminbi usage for payments in December may be attributed to a convergence of several events: the slowdown of the Chinese economy, the volatility of the renminbi exchange rate and regulatory measures on capital outflows,” said Michael Moon, head of payments markets in the Asia-Pacific region for Swift.
Data for the whole of last year shows the renminbi exceeded its December 2015 market share in only one month, January, while the absolute value of monthly international renminbi payments never exceeded the sum seen in December 2015.
Moon said Swift continued to predict greater internationalisation of the Chinese currency despite the fall in cross-border usage.
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