Recently, CCB has set up financial service centres at 13 trial locations in Beijing, Liaoning, Jiangsu, etc. to provide one-stop financial services to individual cross-border customers.  This is yet another measure demonstrating that CCB is actively responding to market needs, quickening its pace in strategic transformation and boosting its ability to provide integrated personal financial services.  Such a large scale setting up of standardised cross-border personal financial service centres is a first in the banking sector in China.

With China’s rapid social-economic development and the intensification of its economic and cultural exchange with other countries, there has been a substantial increase in the number of people crossing borders and in the number of cross-border transits.  Thus, the demands for financial services from cross-border customers have become ever stronger.  In setting up cross-border personal financial service centres, CCB aims at winning over more quality customers and establishing a brand image for its foreign currency businesses.  This will be achieved by providing quality and comprehensive financial services through an integrated, professional and one-stop operating model at these centres.

Compared to previous operation models for similar services offered by other domestic banks, CCB’s cross-border personal financial service centres have distinctly different characteristics, which are summed up as the “Five Unifies” and “Two Coverages”.

The Five Unifies refer to the fact that all the cross-border financial service centres will have unified operating models, unified service contents, unified marketing and promotion, unified business environments and unified staff quality requirements.  To this end, it has prepared a number of normative documents including “Guiding Opinions on the Launching of Cross-border Personal Financial Services”, “Guidelines on Visual Image Build-up at CCB Cross-border Personal Financial Service Centres”, “Management of CCB Cross-border Personal Financial Service Centres”, and “A Practical Manual on Products and Services at CCB Cross-border Personal Financial Service Centres”.  By providing through these documents comprehensive and detailed specifications on the mode of operation, scope of service, visual image, staff responsibilities and venue layouts at these financial service centres, CCB aims at providing customers with high quality financial services at all the financial service centres by applying the same standards throughout.

The Two Coverages refer to the intent that the target customers for CCB’s cross-border financial service centres will cover the majority of border transit groups and that the services offered will cover the majority of cross-border personal financial services.  Target customers of CCB’ cross-border service centres basically include all types of individuals who are allowed to enter or leave China under existing laws, including those who are taking overseas studies, overseas tours, relative visits, emigration, business studies, overseas jobs and foreigners entering the country.  In addition to conventional banking services, these centres will also provide such financing services as overseas studying loans, guarantee deposit loans and letter of guarantee issuing, etc.  They will also provide settling services such as converting and selling of foreign currencies, selling of travelling cheques on commission and international cash remittance.  In accreditation services, they will issue certificates of deposits, permits for bringing foreign currencies overseas and personal selling and buying of foreign currencies, etc.  They will sell branded financial management products such as the “Profit from Interest” and “Profit from Exchange” series.  They will also provide value-added services such as translation, basic overseas study consultancy, hotel reservation, travelling route consultancy, air-ticket reservation, express postal services, airport VIP channels, etc.  They will also provided bank card services for Dragon Card and the Happy Investor Wealth Management Card).  In addition, there are also individualised and professional services.

In the next stage, based on the experience gained from the trial locations, CCB will complete the work of promoting and setting up cross-border personal financial service centres in cities around the country.  It will do so by adopting the following principles: centralised approval by headquarters; gradual expansion by setting each new centre only when a branch has been well prepared; joint carrying out of expansion by headquarters and the branches.  Meanwhile, in order that it can update and enrich its services in time and that cross-border personal financial services can be continuously improved, CCB will centralise resources in developing cooperation with various embassies, consulates, agencies and other immigration service institutions and in getting hold of market trends.

Links to background information:

1.    Services offered at China Construction Bank Cross-border Personal Financial Service Centres

2.    One-stop Services offered at China Construction Bank Cross-border Personal Financial Service Centres