Many Hong Kong residents use payment apps on their smartphones for various consumer services these days but have found it impossible on the mainland unless they have a mainland bank account tied to their payment apps. They all know the mainland is ahead of the rest of the world in mobile payments via phone apps tied to bank accounts. This is why they are using it as well, but opening bank accounts on the mainland can sometimes be quite a hassle for Hong Kong residents.

Luckily, Bank of China (Hong Kong) has been approved by People's Bank of China to roll out a service that allow Hong Kong residents to open an account with its mainland-based parent Bank of China without having to visit the mainland in person. The new account will not only offer access to ATMs throughout the mainland but can also be linked to mobile payment services such as WeChat Pay and AliPay. This will save Hong Kong people a lot of time and afford them more convenience when staying on the mainland.

The move will simplify the process for Hong Kong people to gain access to banking services on the mainland, particularly mobile payment service, which is essential if they are to feel at home when staying on the mainland.

Ever since the launch of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development project, the central government has spared no effort to introduce measures to facilitate Hong Kong and Macao residents studying, working or living on the mainland. The rollout of cross-boundary bank account service is just another of those facilitating measures, which include earlier policies allowing residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to gain access to various social benefits as their mainland compatriots do.

The city cluster development is essentially a process of regional integration and collaboration for the ultimate benefit of all residents in the region. It goes without saying that the success of the project hinges on free flow of personnel among the three regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong. This in turn relies on seamless connectivity - not only in terms of hardware infrastructure but also in software facilities such as public services.

It is conceivable that more support measures to facilitate Hong Kong and Macao residents living on the mainland will be rolled out by the central government as the city cluster development project progresses.

(HK Edition 03/21/2019 page9)