China Construction Bank

Performance indicators

2023: Sixth largest bank in the world

The largest banks in the world by capitalization for June 2023

2021: No. 7 Company by Global Net Profit

Net profit for 2021 in billions of dollars of eight leading public companies in the world. Data: Forbes Global 2000, Source: Statista

2019

The 20 most profitable companies in the world. Earnings per day, 2019

2019

History

2020: Opening Public Wallet Access for Digital Yuan

On August 29, 2020, China Construction Bank, one of the four largest state-owned banks in China, opened public access to the wallet for the digital yuan. The corresponding function appeared in the bank's mobile application, but disappeared a few days later.

After the feature appeared, users were able to activate the wallet for the digital yuan, also known as the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). To activate, you had to specify the mobile phone number specified when registering in the bank's mobile application.

In total, the bank offered 4 types of wallets, the difference between which was the restrictions on the transactions. The simplest wallet had a limit of 500 yuan per transaction, 1,000 yuan per day and 10,000 per year. The wallet of the latter type had a limit of 50 thousand yuan per transaction and up to 500 thousand yuan per year.

Major Chinese bank China Construction Bank shows wallet for digital yuan

In the spring of 2020, information appeared on the Internet that the digital yuan is being tested by another major state-owned bank in China - Agricultural Bank of China.

The digital yuan is a virtual currency tied to the Chinese yuan one-to-one. Since identification is necessary to use the digital yuan, this currency has little in common with virtual currencies based on decentralized blockchain technology.

The development of CBDC began in 2014 and takes place with the participation of the four largest Chinese banks, all of which are owned by the state. In the summer of 2020, the chairman of the People's Bank of China, Yi Gang, said that they had no goal of creating a state virtual currency that local residents could use.

Even if we understand that we can make such a currency, it may not appear on the market, "he said.[1]

2018: Branch launch without people

On April 11, 2018, it became known that China Construction Bank, one of the largest banks in China, opened a new branch in Shanghai, which is managed exclusively using technologies including facial recognition, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality.

The first thing visitors see entering the bank is a friendly robot that answers questions using voice recognition technology.

China Construction Bank launches branch without people

Smart banking machines can perform various operations and provide services for opening a bank account, making money transfers, exchanging currencies, selling gold and managing private capital. According to representatives of the bank, the innovation will help carry out 90% of cash and cashless transactions, which are usually carried out in traditional branches of the bank.

For wealthy clients who need human help, a special room is allocated where you can remotely talk with customer service managers using a video chat.

Visiting such a bank leaves a fantastic impression, say the first visitors. Those who came in for the first time must scan their ID to gain access. Then the robot assistant gives them the queue number. The second robot answers additional questions. In the future, client data will be accessed automatically using face recognition technology.

The use of high technology in China's banking sector is becoming more common. In 2017, 228,700 bank branches were equipped with "smart" devices offering services in addition to withdrawing and depositing cash, according to the Association of Banks of China.^[2]

According to China Daily, for the first time in the Chinese banking industry, the bank uses about 1.5 thousand robots in 360 self-service branches to attract high-tech fans and reduce staff costs.

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