As Bank of China (BOC) opens a subsidiary in Macau next Monday, certain services will be briefly suspended to cope with the transformation, bank executives announced yesterday.
The new subsidiary is branded as Bank of China (Macau) Ltd.
At a press conference held to familiarize the press with the change, BOC Macau Branch executives made the announcement, while reiterating there should be no obvious impact on customer experience.
Chan Hio Peng, CEO of BOC (Macau), told the press conference that from Monday, BOC will operate in the territory under two brands, namely BOC Macau Branch and BOC (Macau), similar to the bank’s operations in Hong Kong.
General Manager Yu Jian at the digital finance department of BOC Macau Branch recapped the bank’s previous announcement on brief service suspensions during the inauguration of the new company, as certain upgrades to computer systems will be necessary.
He particularly reminded the bank’s clients to update the app on their mobile devices from Monday. The app will see new functions and platforms such as a simplified interface with larger icons and texts for the convenience of elderly users.
Yu highlighted that the bank had decided to shorten the time during which data migration, mobile and Internet banking, and mobile payment services will be halted from Saturday noon to Sunday noon. ATM withdrawal by card will be suspended from Saturday noon to 8 a.m. Sunday.
Credit card transactions will be suspended from Sunday midnight to 8 a.m. BOC Pay QR code services will be suspended from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday. BOC (Macau) will run a rebate program from November 21 to 25 in response to the suspensions.
Yu, when asked if any back-up plans had been made should glitches occur during the transition, appeared confident and said that multiple tests have been done, hinting that no major problems should be expected.
It was announced the branch will focus on company clients, and the new company on personal clients.
For example, as General Manager Leon Leong at personal banking and channel management department of BOC Macau Branch pointed out, from Monday onwards, the SWIFT code for the bank will remain BKCHMOMX for company clients and BKCHMOMA for personal clients.
Leong also emphasized that current customers should not worry about their experiences at the bank. For example, existing credit and debit cards can be used. Bank passbooks will remain valid until they run out of pages; then they will be replaced by passbooks with new images and branding.
Explaining the parallel operations beginning next Monday, the executives stressed that it was conducted to cope with mainland and local regulations, in addition to utilizing Macau’s political position as a special administrative region. Leong especially stressed that the Macau Branch brand will not diminish after the opening of the subsidiary.
On whether BOC (Macau) will accelerate its brand image rejuvenation, as attracting young talent remains is a key policymaking direction in Macau, the three executives stressed that it will depend on the needs of the market. Furthermore, they highlighted that the current bank has a high ratio of young employees.
