In the past 20 years, half of the outbound tourists departing from Yunnan traveled to Thailand. There was a huge demand for baht. Each year, about 150,000 tourists travel from Kunming to Thailand, each spending about 2,000 yuan ($330) on average in the Southeast Asian country, Zhu said.

Travelers used to exchange the two currencies via underground banks or from local tourism guides in Thailand when they landed in the country.

Up until now, travel agencies in Yunnan and Thailand needed to pay each other for each travel group. Direct exchange will make things easier for both sides, said Zhu.

According to media reports, China and Thailand have reached an agreement for a visa-free policy to be signed in the near future. Zhu said it's predicted the number of individual travelers will soar and demand for baht will consequently also rise, Zhu said.

Before that, in June 2011, Fudian Bank started the direct exchange of yuan with Laos kips, saving much time and facilitating enterprise operations between both sides, said Liu Guangxi, director of Yunnan's Financial Office.

In 2012, Fudian's cross-border yuan settlement totaled $311 million. In September, the bank had traded 54 million yuan of baht at the China Foreign Exchange Trading Center in Shanghai.

The next step will involve Yunnan directly trading in other currencies in Southeast Asian countries, including the Vietnamese dong, the Myanmar kyat and the Cambodian riel, Liu said.

Fudian Bank was also granted approval to set up a commercial bank in Laos. The Laos-China Bank will open to customers early this year, said Zhang of Fudian Bank.