UK-based Crown Agents Bank (CAB), a bank specialising in emerging markets, is providing China-based enterprise payments provider YeePay with wholesale foreign exchange (FX) services across G10 currencies. Under the arrangement, YeePay compares quotes from its FX providers and may route transactions to CAB's streaming FX pricing, depending on its own selection criteria.
Streaming FX pricing and emerging market corridors
CAB provides streaming wholesale FX pricing and settles transactions through its banking network of in-country relationships. The bank specialises in selected emerging and frontier markets, where access, liquidity, and local market requirements can be more complex. The two companies are exploring a broader wholesale FX relationship covering hard-to-reach trade corridors in the Global South, including selected African currencies, subject to product eligibility, regulatory requirements, and market availability.
Charles Mangin, Global Head of Foreign Exchange at Crown Agents Bank, said YeePay connects Chinese payments with the rest of the world, with particular expertise in global travel. He added that as payments businesses expand internationally, they increasingly look beyond traditional corridors, and that serving a market effectively requires understanding local conditions rather than simply adding it to a coverage list.
YeePay's international expansion
YeePay operates across China and is expanding internationally, with a presence in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and North America. In August 2026, its UK subsidiary, YeePay UK, obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the company has since received an EMI licence from De Nederlandsche Bank. Chen Yu, Co-Founder of YeePay, said Africa is a strategic market where banking partners with local capabilities can be hard to find.
CAB connects clients across the public, private, and development sectors to more than 120 currencies across more than 800 currency pairs, subject to eligibility and market availability. The bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the PRA. In July 2025, CAB obtained an International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, expanding its payment capabilities in the country, including diaspora remittances and other international inflows.
