This research empirically examines the impact of China’s renminbi (RMB) Bilateral Swap Agreements (BSAs) on the usage of the currency in cross-border trade transactions. By using a unique dataset from SWIFT including cross-border settlement messages of 91 countries/regions between October 2010 and November 2015, we confirm that the signing of an RMB BSA helps increase the number, value and proportion of the RMB settlement in cross-border trade. Our results are robust with respect to the choice o