The writer learned from Huaihua Branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) that as of July 6, 2025, Huaihua handled convenient remittance services amounting to RMB143,300 via Payment Connect.
Recently, the PBOC and Hong Kong Monetary Authority worked together to officially launch Payment Connect. The faster payment systems in the mainland and Hong Kong have been linked, supporting real-time cross-boundary payment services for residents in both places.
PBOC Huaihua Branch timely guided pilot banks to increase policy promotion and quickly implement relevant business. On the first day of the launch, PBOC Huaihua Branch successfully handled four personal cross-boundary remittances. The city completed Payment Connect business for the first time.
Payment Connect far outperforms traditional cross-boundary remittance services. Residents in the mainland and Hong Kong can easily complete cross-boundary remittance through the “Payment Connect” function module of the mobile banking platform of six pilot banks—Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and China Merchants Bank—by entering the phone number or the account name plus the receiving account number, without the need to fill in the address of the receiving bank, SWIFT code, and other information required for traditional cross-boundary remittance services. Residents can also flexibly choose the currency as RMB or HKD according to their needs. Further, compared with traditional cross-boundary remittance services, Payment Connect shortens the remittance link and enables recipients to receive the payment within seconds.
Payment Connect, which was quickly launched in Huaihua, with no fees and instant arrival of funds, offers Huaihua citizens new cross-boundary payment experience. Mr. Zhang, a Huaihua citizen, travels between the mainland and Hong Kong for a long time due to work. He used to wire money to his Hong Kong account to cover daily expenses in Hong Kong, and the money usually arrived in half a day or the next day. Learning that Payment Connect was launched, Mr. Zhang transferred RMB1,000 to his BOC account in Hong Kong through the BOC App on June 22. He found that he only needed to enter the receiving account number, name and postscript, the money would arrive in real time, and there was no need to exchange currency. “In the past, it took at least half a day to transfer money to Hong Kong. Now, with Payment Connect, the funds arrive in seconds. It is as quick as transferring money to a local account. It’s really convenient.” Mr. Zhang praised.
(Translated by Professor Yu Jie)