IN THE NEWS
The proxy witness service, which allows Hong Kong and Macau residents to open mainland Chinese bank accounts remotely, has now been expanded to all nine cities in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, Yicai Global reported yesterday.
Previously available only in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai, the service now includes Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Zhaoqing, according to the Guangdong branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC).
Designed to improve financial integration in the Greater Bay Area, the proxy witness system enables local banks in Hong Kong and Macao to serve as witnesses for account openings in the mainland. Applicants no longer need to travel across the border to complete the process.
“This offers a more convenient payment option for Hong Kong and Macau residents studying, working, and living in the mainland,” said a PBoC official.
A Hong Kong resident who opened an account at the Bank of China Tower in Central shared, “I can use my mainland bank card as soon as I cross the border—payments are as easy as for any local resident.”
The service was first piloted in 2019. It allows newly issued bank cards to be linked to popular mainland mobile payment apps, enabling seamless transactions throughout the country.
Banks approved to offer the service include Bank of China, ICBC, CCB, China Merchants Bank, Bank of East Asia, Bank of Communications, HSBC, and Standard Chartered. As of June 30, over 472,000 personal accounts have been opened, with cumulative transactions exceeding CNY 40 billion (USD 5.6 billion). By Times Reporter
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