In recent years, Bank of China has actively implemented measures to enhance the convenience of services for inbound travelers. Starting with improving payment convenience, the bank has upgraded and developed a one-stop integrated service platform combining "finance and lifestyle." To date, the "Come to China" app has officially exceeded one million installations, marking a new chapter in Bank of China's efforts to upgrade and enhance the "travel in China" experience.
Addressing the inconvenience of inbound travelers having to download multiple apps, Bank of China has integrated core scenarios such as dining, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, and healthcare. By deeply consolidating various high-frequency lifestyle services, the platform creates an open, aggregated ecosystem, solving entry-related challenges at the source and delivering one-stop convenience.
The app breaks down communication barriers by supporting automatic voice recognition and translation in 31 languages and photo-based menu translation in 46 languages, enabling seamless cross-border communication. It facilitates entry communication with services like phone card application appointments, eSIM data plan purchases, and offline store navigation.
Travel experiences are optimized with an English map featuring AR navigation—a market first—covering taxi services in 370 cities and domestic flight and train ticket bookings. Deeper lifestyle integration includes food recommendations in 62 cities, reservations at 4,580 restaurants, and hotel bookings spanning millions of properties in over 600 cities. The platform also integrates information for 860,000 scenic spots with online ticket purchasing.
Healthcare support is strengthened with full-process medical guidance, online English appointment scheduling, and navigation services, making health protection easily accessible. To achieve a closed-loop service from entry to stay to departure, the app features a dedicated tax refund section, building a comprehensive consumption system from discovery to purchase, helping to establish "Shopping in China" as a premium brand.
Precise shopping guidance covers over 300 cities, with tailored recommendations across categories like trendy gadgets, electronics, and apparel. Tax refunds are streamlined with navigation to thousands of tax-free shops and online application functions. Bank of China's tax refund service now covers 23 provinces and regions nationwide, maintaining an industry-leading position.
Geographic restrictions are overcome through the innovative "instant refund upon purchase" service, which is mutually recognized across 17 authorized regions, allowing overseas visitors to shop freely and claim refunds conveniently even when departing from a different location.
Leveraging its leading cross-border financial expertise, Bank of China uses digital innovation and process re-engineering to accurately address pain points in non-resident financial services. Account opening appointments reduce waiting times: non-residents can submit pre-screening information online via mobile, significantly shortening in-person wait times.
The financial map offers one-tap navigation, deeply integrated with lifestyle scenarios to precisely locate nearby foreign card-accepting merchants, digital currency payment points, ATMs, and currency exchange machines. Financial guides provide step-by-step assistance, featuring real-time exchange rates for 39 foreign currencies and financial service instructions in eight languages, covering cash withdrawal, currency exchange, and mobile payment strategies.
Bank of China will continue to expand the "Come to China" app's service ecosystem, collaborating with various partners to enrich services around "travel, shop, study, and receive medical care in China," contributing greater financial strength to promote high-level opening up.
Comments