(File photo)

According to SWIFT's latest RMB tracker, the value of RMB payments in UK increased by 21 percent between March 2014 and March 2016, making the country second only to Hong Kong as an offshore RMB clearing center.

The report shows that Singapore overtook UK in February 2014, but that trend started to reverse in January 2016. Hong Kong is still the world's largest offshore RMB center, processing 72.5 percent of all RMB payments; Hong Kong is followed by UK with a share of 6.3 percent, and Singapore with a share of 4.6 percent.

SWIFT data also shows that 40 percent of all payments made between UK and China or Hong Kong were exchanged in RMB, followed by the Hong Kong dollar (24 percent) and the British pound (12 percent).

"Since the China Construction Bank London branch became a clearing bank in June 2014, there has been a steady growth of RMB payments between the United Kingdom and China/Hong Kong," said Stephen Gilderdale, Managing Director for England , Ireland and Northern Europe at SWIFT. "Offshore RMB clearing centers are driving greater use of the currency in global trade, and countries such as the United Kingdom are reaping the benefits," Gilderdale added.