SWIFT, the bank and international payment service made the announcement last quarter of 2013, using a traditional and narrow definition of trade financed by letters of credit. Most world trade (80%) is now conducted on face-to-face terms. The yuan is steadily becoming more expensive against the dollar and that could account for its surpassing the Euro. If one looks at payments made in various currencies, the yuan is now seventh behind the Canadian dollar, hardly a new world reserve currency. Britain leads the growth in yuan payments, with a surge of 123.6% year over year. The City is never loath to miss a deal and they have been at it for centuries.