The Bank of East Asia (China) Limited (“BEA China”) is sharpening and enhancing its cross-boundary business with a differentiated digital strategy to focus on customers’ financial services needs.
There is a continuously growing appetite for cross-boundary financial services in the Chinese Mainland as more enterprises expand overseas, residents travel abroad, and an increasing number of expatriates work and live in the Chinese Mainland.
However, many existing banking institutions fall short of meeting the evolving needs and preferences of customers. The functionality of products tends to be homogeneous and the range of digital options that focus on the user experience is limited.
This is where BEA China looks to differentiate itself. Leveraging the strong global network and extensive experience in global wealth management of its Hong Kong parent bank,
BEA China offers its cross-boundary customers a variety of products through multiple online and mobile channels, including Remuneration FX, an innovative service unique to Foreign-funded Banks in the Chinese Mainland, providing mobile and convenient FX purchasing with salary service for expatriates working in the Chinese Mainland. Other services include global remittance, Hong Kong fast remittance, foreign currency time deposit, and foreign exchange.
This is the result of BEA China’s commitment to innovation. It also designed a WeChat Mini-Program as part of the project to provide cross-boundary financial information to customers.
More recently, to serve its international customers, BEA China has developed an English version of its mobile banking app to offer tailor-made features and content.
Centennial Bank：Bringing old and new together
BEA China’s digital journey to date reflects the mantra of transformation that fuels a spirit of innovation within the bank. This enables the Bank to effectively digitise product offering and enhance customer experience.
It is a bold objective for a century-old bank originating from Hong Kong, China. Since opening in Shanghai in 1920, BEA’s business in the Chinese Mainland has grown steadily into what is now as one of the most extensive branch networks of any foreign bank in the Chinese Mainland.
Established in 2007, BEA China was one of the first locally incorporated foreign banks in the Chinese Mainland. Today, it has a broad customer base that include local and international residents, as well as enterprises, across a mix of personal and corporate banking, wealth management and Cyberbanking services.
In all these areas, the overarching goal is to optimise and deliver a high-quality digital user experience to customers.
BEA China: Rewriting the digital roadmap
With its cross-boundary customers in mind, BEA China has spearheaded the latest of its initiatives to deliver a digital-first mindset – via the BEA China Mobile Banking International Version. In short, it is an app designed for the needs of non-resident customers, aiming to provide the ultimate user experience.
Every user interface, function and interaction were refined through an iterative development process incorporating constant user research and feedback. The outcome is a new-look design which is simple yet advanced.
At the same time, the bank has launched a new self-service account opening appointment service this year. Customers can securely submit their account application for pre-approval, schedule a branch appointment to activate their account, and visit a bilingual account manager at a designated branch for greater speed and convenience.
BEA China firmly believes that, under the wave of Global digital transformation, a world of renewed interconnection of talent, capital, and resources will emerge amid the post-pandemic revitalization, and it is ready to serve its market with innovative and digital banking services. Looking ahead, BEA China is committed to becoming a global digital bank of excellence.
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