Russia, whose access to the US dollar was limited due to sanctions over the Ukraine invasion, is now using the Chinese currency for trade.
Swift said in a report published on November 16 that Moscow is the fourth largest user of the Chinese currency.
While Hong Kong, the UK, and Singapore have been mainstays for trading with the Chinese currency, Russia's inclusion is new.
Russia accounted for 3% of international payments in October. The lion's share of payments in the currency was accounted for by Hong Kong and the UK.
Despite the recent surge in usage, the Chinese yuan was only the fifth most commonly used currency for global payments.
The US dollar was used 42% of the time for global payments in October.
The data released by the Moscow Exchange shows that trade between China and Russia is worth over a billion dollars per day. They usually overshot the 1 billion mark in a week.
Russian banks' access to the Swift banking system was restricted due to sanctions against Moscow for invading Ukraine. Half of Russia's foreign currency reserves have been frozen.
The Swift system of international trade is dominated by the US and the EU. Russian companies have issued bonds in the Chinese currency to raise money.
The share of the Chinese currency in Moscow's Exchange's official foreign-exchange market has increased from under 1% at the beginning of the year to 40% to 45% now. In the month of October, trade in the US dollar-ruble pair halved.
Structural changes are taking place in the Russian economy.
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