A bank staff checks RMB banknotes at a bank in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu province, Jan 7, 2016. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING – The Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, retained its spot as the fourth most active currency for global payments by value in February, according to a report.

The RMB's global share stood at 4 percent last month, a report from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial said. SWIFT is a global provider of financial messaging services.

The RMB payments value decreased 20.47 percent compared to January, while in general all payments currencies decreased by 10.37 percent, the SWIFT said.

In terms of international payments excluding payments within the Eurozone, the RMB ranked fifth with a share of 2.78 percent in February.

China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the largest market for offshore RMB transactions, taking up 79.9 percent, followed by Britain at 5.37 percent and Singapore at 3.39 percent, the report said.