Cross-border remittances enter the minute-level era! Bank of China’s “BOC Instant Remittance” will be fully launched on September 13

In June 2026, a cross-border remittance was sent from the Bank of China, crossing the 12-hour time difference across the Pacific Ocean, and was credited to JPMorgan Chase in quasi-real-time, with the whole process taking less than 60 seconds.

Bank of China and JP Morgan Chase jointly announced that the two parties have cooperated to complete the first real-time personal cross-border remittance transaction between China and the United States. In addition to the U.S. market, Bank of China has also established “BOC Instant Remittance” business connectivity with major partner banks in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Spain.

After trials in key cities, during this year’s Service Trade Fair, Bank of China stated that it will launch “BOC Instant Remittance” nationwide on September 13 to provide individual customers with faster and more transparent cross-border remittance services.

Behind a remittance is the intersection of a century of cross-border financial accumulation and a new generation of payment technology.

From overseas Chinese batches to instant remittances, Bank of China’s century-old heritage of cross-border services

In modern times, overseas Chinese traveled across the ocean to make a living, and sent their hard-earned earnings back to their homeland along with letters from home, forming the earliest cross-border remittance form in China.

Qiaopi, also known as “Bank Letter”, is a unique carrier of credit and money for the Chinese. It has been included in UNESCO’s “Memory of the World Register” and carries the century-old cross-border capital needs of overseas Chinese to send money and express their thoughts across the sea. Bank of China has always been the core support of this cross-sea exchange route.

During the War of Resistance Against Japan, overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia relied on overseas remittances to support the motherland’s material procurement. Private credit bureaus closed down one after another and handling fees skyrocketed. Bank of China has established branches in Fujian and Guangdong to collect remittances at low prices and process remittances in full regardless of distance. The relevant responsibilities were recorded in “Memoirs of Overseas Chinese” by Tan Kah Kee. In order to break through the overseas policy blockade, branches in various places have used exclusive business names to protect the flow of remittances. Remittances ranging from small amounts to 5 yuan and large amounts of tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars continue to support the livelihood of overseas Chinese family members and also provide critical funds for national salvation.

In times of peace, all private overseas overseas Chinese approval bureaus across the country were merged into the Bank of China, and the remittance payment work was fully undertaken by the Bank of China. In the early years, staff members rode bikes and sailed boats through the countryside, delivering remittances door-to-door regardless of weather conditions, building trust among overseas Chinese at home and abroad. Bank of China also donated a large number of original historical materials on overseas Chinese batches to the Fuqing Overseas Chinese Hometown Museum to preserve exclusive cross-border financial memories.

Over the past century, Bank of China has completely taken over the overseas Chinese batch service line and continued to promote the iterative upgrade of cross-border remittances: from manual delivery of overseas Chinese batches, telegraph remittances, to global payment networks, BOC has been deeply involved in every round of industry technological changes.