BOC boosts corporate globalization with innovative payroll solutions

Bank of China, one of the "big four" State-owned commercial banks in the country, unveiled on Wednesday its global payroll solutions, aiming to better address the outbound reach of Chinese companies.

The launch ceremony was part of the ongoing 8th China International Import Expo, which kicked off in Shanghai on Wednesday.

By teaming up with MasterCard, BOC will issue a special debit card to provide payroll services globally, including a bank account accessible for the use of renminbi, 19 major currencies such as the US dollar, euro, Japanese yen, and any other currency required by the employer.

A total of eight industry leaders, including Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co Ltd, logistics service provider YTO Express, and Baowu Resources Co Ltd, are the first batch of companies to enter into the global payroll cooperation with BOC.

According to Zhang Hui, BOC's president, the globalization of Chinese companies has entered a new phase under which cross-border talent cooperation and the management of global payrolls have become important pillars.

Private companies have shown much vitality and resilience as China deepens its opening-up. To better integrate into the global industrial chain and supply chain, companies should better use various financial resources so that they can be more competitive in the international market, said Shou Ziqi, vice-chairman of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Against that backdrop, financial institutions should continue to introduce new innovative products, which include customized and modular payroll management for private enterprises' cross-border projects. Private enterprises can thus improve their compliance and better address the various challenges in cross-border operation, he added.

Cross-border denomination, payment and settlement in renminbi can help to avoid foreign exchange risks effectively amid the rising uncertainties in the global market, said Chen Weidong, head of the research institute under BOC.

With BOC's new service, Chinese employees working overseas can avoid the trouble of providing lots of documents to open new payroll accounts at foreign banks and the high fees to remitting the payrolls back to China, which are among biggest headaches for overseas payroll management in the past, said Chen Weiquan, chairman of human resources service provider Shanghai Foreign Service Holding Group Co Ltd.