Thai Baht Ranks 11th in Global Cross-Border Payments
The Thai baht ranked 11th globally for cross-border payment usage in September 2026 with a 0.83% share, according to SWIFT's latest Global Currency Tracker. The US dollar continues to dominate international payments at nearly 50%, while the Chinese yuan ranks fifth overall but rises to second place in trade finance. The baht placed eighth in the trade finance category with a 0.57% share.
The Thai baht ranked 11th worldwide for cross-border payment usage, according to SWIFT's October 2026 Global Currency Tracker. The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, the leading provider of secure financial messaging services, compiles statistics on currency usage in international transactions. The report, based on September 2026 data, shows the US dollar still dominates global payments at 49.63%, followed by the euro at 21.69% and the British pound at 6.89%. China's yuan sits in fifth place with 3.33%, while the baht holds a 0.83% share.
Excluding intra-eurozone transactions, the dollar's share rises to 58.83%, with the euro at 13.58%, the pound at 5.17%, and the Japanese yen at 4.78%. The yuan ranks sixth at 2.43%, while the baht remains 11th at 0.80%.
In trade finance, however, the yuan plays a more prominent role, ranking second with an 8.26% share behind the dollar's dominant 82.05%. The euro follows at 4.48% and the yen at 1.32%. The baht ranks eighth in trade finance with a 0.57% share.
For offshore yuan payments, Hong Kong remains the primary hub, handling 76.13% of such transactions outside mainland China. The United Kingdom accounts for 7.12%, Singapore 4.19%, and the United States 2.56%, underscoring Hong Kong's role as the key international yuan clearing center.
In yuan-denominated foreign exchange spot trading, Switzerland led with a 19.12% share in September 2026, followed by Singapore at 17.15%, South Korea at 16.34%, Germany at 9.04%, and Japan at 6.17%. Mainland China itself accounted for 9.77% of yuan spot trading volume.
