When APEC enters Shenzhen, Ping An Bank makes financial services more “international”

In 2026, China will enter APEC time again. This year coincides with the 35th anniversary of China’s membership in APEC. It is also the third time that China has served as the host of APEC, following Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014.

Over the past 35 years, cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region has continued to advance. But the degree of openness of a city depends not only on how many international conferences it hosts, but also on whether it can facilitate life, consumption, and business for foreign friends after they come here.

This is especially true for Shenzhen. This is a city that has long relied on openness to grow. Now, when it once again stands under the spotlight of APEC, “internationalization” is no longer just about the number of multinational companies and the number of international airlines. It is also increasingly reflected in whether an ordinary foreigner can smoothly enter the daily life of this city after walking out of the airport.

Russian girl Kate recently experienced it in Shenzhen. She walked into a Ping An Bank branch.Upon entering, I found that not only were staff members who spoke both Chinese and English received me, but they also successfully handled foreign currency exchange and coin purse exchange. Several businesses were completed, and the process was easier than she expected.

Kate said: “I used to think it was a big deal for foreigners to go to the bank to do business, but I didn’t expect it would be so smooth.” After leaving the bank, she went to the Vientiane City business district. For shopping in shopping malls and spending money on the street, various payment methods such as cash, card swiping, and QR code scanning are very convenient.

When payment convenience no longer only means “whether you can pay”, but extends to currency exchange, account opening, cash withdrawal and daily consumption, the living experience of foreign friends in a city will also change accordingly.

“My biggest feeling in Shenzhen is that no one treats me as a foreigner,” Kate said.

From “inconvenient” to “more convenient”, how does Ping An Bank open up the payment chain for foreigners in China?

in the country, scanning QR codes to pay with mobile phones has long become a daily habit. When eating, taking a taxi, shopping, or even buying a bottle of water at a street store, you can just take out your phone and scan it. But for foreign friends who have just arrived in China, things are often not that simple. They may use overseas mobile phone numbers and hold passports instead of Chinese resident ID cards. Some are used to swiping cards, while others rely more on cash.

In order to allow people from different countries and different payment habits to make payments conveniently in China, the first thing Ping An Bank does is to make different payment methods “acceptable”.

In view of the identity authentication issues that foreigners may encounter during the card binding process, Ping An Bank supports the use of overseas mobile phone numbers for identity verification, and supports foreign passports, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan passes, permanent residence permits for foreigners and other documents to complete the relevant card binding process. Focusing on the use of overseas bank cards, Ping An Bank has also continued to expand the coverage of foreign card acceptance at key merchants through merchant training, terminal inspections, and improvement of foreign card acceptance signs.

However, not everyone is used to scanning codes or swiping cards, and there is still a real need for cash. To this end, Ping An Bank provides self-service foreign currency exchange machines in some key business districts, hotels and cultural and tourism venues. ATMs support overseas MasterCard bank card cash withdrawals, and also provide RMB coin purse exchange services. As of the end of September 2026, Ping An Bank has launched a total of 353,500 coin purses, including 236,000 in key cities.

From the perspective of Ping An Bank, true payment facilitation does not require every foreigner in China to adapt to China’s payment habits, but allows people with different financial usage habits to find convenient and reliable service methods.

When the stay extends from days to months or even years, payment facilitation no longer just solves a certain payment problem, but begins to extend to longer-term and more stable financial services. For financial institutions, a single function is not enough. Customers also need to know where to go, whether they can communicate smoothly, and whether follow-up services are easily available.

Ping An Bank is extending this service capability to its branches. At present, Ping An Bank has established 114 key outlets across the country to serve overseas residents in China, and has built 10 “overseas friendly harbor” specialty stores in key cities such as Shenzhen. The store uses bilingual logos in Chinese and English, provides bilingual support for some online and offline services, and provides special services based on local characteristics.