Yuan payments service comes as experts predict Chinese currency will eventually replace US dollar as global reserve The prospect of a fully exchangeable Chinese currency will move a step closer this month when Travelex offers business customers the opportunity to trade directly with authorised Chinese companies. The move comes at a time when the dollar’s long-standing role as a reserve currency is under threat. China’s economy is powering ahead and overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest economy last year, a title Japan had held for more than 40 years.