China Bank is planning to beef up the expansion of its branch network and digital banking channels to adapt to the “new normal” brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The bank earlier said that it would complete its branch expansion plan this year, which was put on hold during the lockdown.
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To resume the opening of new branches, the bank will use the remaining seven branch licenses it obtained from the acquisition of Plantersbank.
Additionally, China Bank is currently working to bolster its digital banking platforms as well.
China Bank president William Whang said: “We believe that bricks and mortar is still an important channel especially in the provinces where you have a wide population of unbanked.
“However, we also recognise a segment of the market that demands digital products and services.
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By GlobalData“In support of BSP’s financial inclusion programme, we have organised a digital banking office to spearhead this initiative.”
The bank began its digital transformation journey before the pandemic hit the country, which contributed to the increase in adoption of digital banking channels.
China Bank claimed that its app users increased by 83% and transactions had doubled from January to May.
Whang added: “We are among the first banks to participate in Instapay, among the first to adopt the QR code, and the first to launch RFID loading in our mobile banking app and Beep card reloading via ATM.
“We are strengthening our cyber security infrastructure not only for our internal operations but also for our clients who should feel safe doing business with us in the digital space.”
China Bank has 631 branches in the country, of which, 158 branches are of China Bank Savings unit.
