Bank of China Hong Kong is first to allow mobile payments in mainland without a Chinese bank account
- Hongkongers with the BOC Pay app are now able to top up their e-wallet with funds from any Hong Kong bank account for the first time
Hongkongers will for the first time be able to use their mobile phones to make payments in mainland China without having to hold a bank account there, thanks to a new feature of Bank of China Hong Kong’s e-wallet app.
From Wednesday the lender will allow users to add value to their BOC Pay app using funds from any Hong Kong bank account.
Previously, Hongkongers could make use of mainland Chinese e-wallets such as WeChat Pay or Alipay only if they held a mainland bank account.
BOCHK, one of the largest retail banks in Hong Kong, will enable users of its e-payment app to make fund transfers from any Hong Kong bank account via the Faster Payment System.
The Faster Payment System, introduced by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in September, enables bank customers to transfer money, shop and pay bills by scanning quick response (QR) bar codes.