China Expands Cross-Border Cash Management Scheme for Multinational Companies

The People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange have jointly issued new rules rolling out multinational corporations' cross-border local and foreign currency centralized fund operations nationwide. Taking effect on September 14, 2026, the policy simplifies filing procedures and lowers qualification thresholds compared to previous integrated cash pools, enabling small- and medium-sized multinational corporations to centralize foreign debt quotas, overseas lending, and current account netting settlements, with additional threshold reductions for entities in Pilot Free Trade Zones.

The nationwide rollout of centralized cash management lowers fund allocation costs and enhances operational efficiency for both outbound Chinese enterprises and inbound foreign firms. By offering accessible eligibility standards, the policy brings sophisticated treasury tools—such as netting settlement and debt quota pooling—within reach of mid-sized multinationals, supporting cross-border trade and corporate liquidity management.

China's central bank and foreign exchange regulator have expanded a cross-border cash management mechanism nationwide, lowering entry requirements to help more multinational enterprises centralize their currency operations across borders. According to a circular jointly issued on August 14, 2026, by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the policy governing local and foreign currency cross-border centralized fund operations will officially take effect on September 14, 2026, as reported by National Business Daily. The framework represents a nationwide expansion of previous regional pilot programs and acts as a follow-up to earlier integrated cash pooling policies. While earlier initiatives targeted large corporate groups with high qualification bars, the new regulation lowers barriers to extend cross-border treasury convenience to small- and medium-sized multinational corporations. To qualify for the centralized cash operation, a multinational corporate group must meet specific size and structural requirements. Domestic member entities must have had an aggregate international balance of payments of at least 700 million yuan (equivalent in local and foreign currencies) in the prior year, or domestic member revenue of at least 1 billion yuan alongside overseas member revenue of at least 200 million yuan equivalent. Furthermore, the corporate group must include at least three domestic and overseas member entities combined. To incentivize investment in designated special economic zones, the circular stipulates that if the lead enterprise is registered inside a Pilot Free Trade Zone, the size threshold requirements for all domestic and overseas member entities are reduced by 50 percent. The policy covers three primary business scenarios: centralized foreign debt quota management, centralized overseas lending quota management, and centralized current account receipts and payments along with netting settlements. Industry analysts noted in domestic media reports that these mechanisms streamline fund transfers, balance surplus and deficit across subsidiaries, and improve overall trade and investment facilitation for both outbound Chinese firms and inbound foreign investors.