Meaning & use
CIPS
Last updated
Meanings
abbreviationproperbusiness
Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, a professional organization for people who buy goods and services for companies.
Grammar: Used as a name; often followed by 'is' when talking about the organization.
Patterns
- CIPS certification
- a member of CIPS
She earned a CIPS qualification to improve her career in purchasing.
CIPS offers training and sets standards for procurement professionals.
Many companies look for CIPS membership when hiring supply chain managers.
abbreviationproperfinancebusiness
Clearing House Interbank Payments System, a large electronic system used by banks to send payments, mainly in US dollars.
Grammar: Used as a name; often with 'the'.
Patterns
- through CIPS
- CIPS transfer
International payments often go through CIPS or similar systems.
The bank used CIPS to send the money quickly.
CIPS handles a huge number of dollar transactions every day.
Common combinations
- CIPS certification
- He is studying for CIPS certification to become a procurement specialist.
- CIPS member
- As a CIPS member, she gets access to industry research.
- through CIPS
- The funds were transferred through CIPS.
- CIPS payment
- The company made a CIPS payment to its supplier overseas.
Synonyms and how they differ
- procurement body
- A general term for an organization like CIPS, but less specific.
- payment system
- A general term for a system like CIPS, but not a name.
Commonly confused: CIPS or CIPs?
CIPS vs CIPs
Sometimes people write 'CIPs' with a lowercase s, but the standard abbreviation is all capitals: CIPS.
Practice
In a business article about supply chain qualifications, what does CIPS most likely stand for?
Choose one answer.
In the context of supply chain and purchasing qualifications, CIPS refers to the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply. The payments system meaning is also real but fits a finance context better.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “CIPS”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.