Bank of China
For years, the Bank of China has been the nation’s most international bank, serving Chinese industrial and commercial companies across 54 markets around the world, with wide coverage of nations that make up the Chinese government’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The bank offers clients a large global network of branch offices in cities such as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Frankfurt, Paris, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur and countries such as Hungary, South Africa, Zambia and the US.
It has invested in building a substantial global IT network that offers clients the ability to manage cash across networks of other global banks.
Chief among the offshore units is the bank’s transaction banking unit in Hong Kong, which operates as part of Bank of China International and serves as a nerve centre for the bank’s global cash-management system. Unlike other banks, which tend to insist that clients use only their in-house payment systems, Bank of China cooperates with outside strategic partners such as Alipay, the global online payment system of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings.
Bank of China is also investing in financial technology to provide more value-added experiences for clients, including smartphone technology to service individuals as well as enterprises, according to bank executives.
The bank is also working with Chinese internet technology firm Tencent Holdings to develop technology and software for online payment services that make cross-border cash management easy for anyone with a smartphone.
For its commitment to building and maintaining a global network, Bank of China deserves to be named the best transaction bank for international cash management.