BOCHK exec sees finance moving beyond the bank app

The bank's priorities include data synchronisation and capturing wealth inflows in Hong Kong.

A senior executive of Bank of China Hong Kong (BOCHK) said that the future of digital financial services is one where customers are able to use financial services without opening their bank app.

“Over the next five years…the prediction is that you may be able to access banking information anywhere without entering the app of the bank,” Arnold Chow, General Manager at BOCHK, told attendees of the ABF IA Summit 2026 held on 5 November.

Chow cited how users of WeChat, for example, can now access all kinds of services via the messaging app.

“I think going forward, an open banking mechanism or approach will continue to be a big thing,” said Chow, who oversees BOCHK’s wealth management and retail products in Hong Kong across ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs), affluents, mass retail and business banking clients.

Chow said that for this to push through, regulators will need to adopt a progressive, phased approach.

BOCHK, for example, is already using an open banking approach in its stock and mortgage products to ensure that the data between financial firms and non-financial firms can remain regulated.

The banking industry is working to turn international wealth inflows, including from Southeast Asia and the Middle East into a stronger wealth offering, Chow said.

He says that this is a “very happy problem” to have as one of the city’s leading retail banks.

Chow said that their priorities include how to translate that scale into a stronger wealth proposition, and how they meet clients’ needs to capture the opportunities it brings.

Data synchronisation is another priority for BOCHK, which to Chow meant that a foreign client will not have to wait weeks just to access financial services or open a new business account when they go to Hong Kong.

Chow said that the bank complies with regulatory standards whilst exceeding customer’s expectations, particularly speed, scale, synchronization, and safety.

Chow also sees quantum computing arriving as early as two to three years from now, raising the stakes to establish a secure and quantum-ready banking industry.

He noted that Hong Kong is still at an early stage in quantum-readiness, with a score around 2 out of 10 points, based on central bank data.

“A lot of things to do, [and] safety is definitely one thing that we have to be very careful on,” Chow said.