On the afternoon of 11 March 2021, the Faculty of Finance held the “40th Anniversary of City University of Macau Finance Seminar Series [12]: 2020/21 [Bank of China Financial Workshop] Series (3)” at the Ho Yin Convention Centre. Mr Wang Guocheng, Deputy General Manager of the Personal Banking and Channel Management Department of the Bank of China (Macau Branch), was invited as a guest speaker to share his views on “The Digital Transformation in Banking”. The seminar was attended by Dean Cheung Wai Kong and Associate Dean Khong Yueng Wah of the Faculty of Finance. 

 

 

Mr Wang took large domestic banks as examples and elaborated on the impact of technology and digitisation on banks’ business models and the progress of digital transformation: from the Internet concept “traffic is king” to the absorption and integration of Internet models by traditional banks (the middle platform strategy in digitisation—small front-end platform, large middle platform, and strong back-end platform), and from simply pursuing traffic upgrades to being scenario-based to being ecosystem-based. He suggested making the banking business more diversified, immersive, imperceptible and anthropomorphic, allowing customers to experience extraordinary services, and creating a customer-oriented ecosystem providing round-the-clock services. The banking business should basically cover all aspects of residents’ lives, corporate production and government services, so as to achieve full coverage of China’s mainstream service platforms. Mr Wang pointed out that in the digital age, only by keeping up with technological development, responding to the call of the times, and keeping on the path to digitisation can we stay at the forefront and keep thriving. 

 

 

The seminar ended amid warm applause from students. During the seminar, students actively asked questions. The attending guests shared their experience and answered questions about e-banking, the application and security of digital currency, and the development and promotion of digital finance in detail. 

 

 

The participating students learned about the logic behind the digital transformation and upgrading of traditional banks. They realised that the business models of traditional banks have transformed from manual operations to electronic operations, and then to online operations, and that traditional banking channels have been upgraded first to ATM cards, then to online banking and mobile banking. They also gained an in-depth understanding of the only target path and direction of transformation: reducing costs and increasing efficiency. 

 

 

This seminar was the third “Bank of China Financial Workshop” held by the Faculty of Finance in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of CityU Macau. Maintaining the University’s teaching philosophy of integrating enterprises, universities, and research institutions, the Faculty of Finance has been holding diversified activities in various forms for students and inviting domestic and overseas financial executives to provide students with a professional, diverse and high-end academic feast.