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Consumer Protection

Consumer protection is a fundamental responsibility for China Bank. We are committed to protecting and upholding consumers’ rights, including their right to information about our products and services, their right to data privacy and transaction security, their right to fair treatment, and their right to redress.

 

Protecting Stakeholder Rights

China Bank values its stakeholders and is committed to earning and maintaining their trust. Amid the challenges of the evolving business landscape, the Bank continues to protect its stakeholders’ interests and rights by ensuring the security of transactions, understanding their concerns and providing excellent service.

The Bank is committed to protecting and upholding consumers’ rights, including the right to information, right to data privacy and transaction security, and right to fair treatment and right to redress.

 

Delighting and engaging customers

Customer advocacy is the foundation of our Customer Service and Consumer Protection frameworks. We work hard to make our customers happy and engage them to know what they need, how we can help them, and how we can create great customer experiences. By advocating for our customers, we earn their loyalty and enjoy the reward of mutual advocacy.

 

Information

We help consumers make an informed choice about our products and services. We provide clear, understandable, and accurate information through easily accessible communication channels. Our front liners are adequately trained to answer questions about our products and services, explain the risks that certain products and services carry, and advise consumers on financial matters. At the same time, we promote financial literacy through information campaigns on social media as well as webinars and onsite events to help people in managing their finances, securing their financial future, and using credit wisely.

 

Consumer Assistance

We make it easy and convenient for consumers to get the answers and the assistance they need from us through various channels. Our Customer Contact Center (CCC) is the Bank’s designated Consumer Assistance Office. Supported by our Customer Contact Management System, CCC ensures that requests and concerns sent through any channel are well documented, efficiently handled, and promptly investigated and resolved.

In 2023, CCC recorded 350,746 customer interactions. Majority of the interactions were inquiries and requests. Complaints accounted for only 7% which were mostly related to unsuccessful fund transfers, ATM withdrawals, captured ATM cards, mobile banking downtime and credit card transaction disputes. For the year, CCC resolved 98% of simple complaints within BSP’s standard turnaround time for complaint resolution.

 

Data Privacy

We respect and uphold consumers’ data privacy rights. We apply the principles of transparency, legitimate purpose, and proportionality in processing any personal data entrusted to us, ensuring it is kept safe and secure, stored for no longer than necessary, and used only in accordance with the consent requirements of the law and the National Privacy Commission (NPC).  We also adhere with the five pillars of compliance with existing data privacy regulations:

In 2023, a Group Data Protection Officer (GDPO) was appointed to oversee the Bank’s Group’s Privacy Program. Our GDPO and Data Privacy Office work closely with our Research & Innovation and Data Intelligence teams to ensure our policies, procedures, and standards on data privacy, data protection, data governance and use of artificial intelligence technologies are aligned with the changing regulatory and business environment. 

In line with our commitment to the highest tenets of privacy compliance, we successfully completed the NPC’s registration requirements. The China Bank Group’s seal of registration is displayed in all our branches and offices.

 

Cybersecurity

We have a comprehensive Cybersecurity Program that is aligned with government and industry best security practices that provides a safe and secure banking environment for our customers. Our Information Security and Data Privacy Division (ISDPD) is responsible and accountable for the Cyber Security Program that continuously monitors and protects our systems against cybersecurity threats. Our IT Team led by the Chief Information Officer, works hand in hand with the ISDPD and the Risk Management Group in managing and implementing the Bank’s IT security controls effectively.

To fortify our strong cyber security foundation and defense, various security assessments and penetration testing of our IT systems are regularly conducted by both our in-house cyber security team and independent parties. At the same time, as part of our continuous effort to establish an information security culture, all new employees are mandated to undergo an information security and data privacy trainings prior to accessing our IT systems, while all current employees undergo annual information security e-learning. On top of this, information security due diligence and assessment are conducted on our service providers to gain a level assurance that our information is well protected on their environment. For our stakeholders, we enjoin them in the fight against cyberattacks through our cybersecurity campaign on our website and social media channels. 

In 2023, we:

  • Continued to proactively communicate with our customers on keeping their personal information safe and spotting and avoiding cyber scams and threats.
  • Conducted several specialized trainings on cyber security such as but not limited to secure coding, malware analysis, cloud security, and incident responses.