Elderly Hongkongers living in Guangdong and Fujian provinces will be able to claim their social welfare payments directly from their mainland bank accounts starting from the middle of next year.

A signing ceremony for the cross-border disbursement arrangement for portable cash assistance was held on Friday.

After the arrangement is implemented, elderly people living in Guangdong and Fujian can claim social welfare, including Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, Old Age Allowance and Old Age Living Allowance directly from their mainland bank accounts.

Attending the ceremony, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Chris Sun pointed out that the arrangement involves the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

"This is the first time the Social Welfare Department and these two banks have cooperated to implement cross-border disbursement arrangements for portable cash assistance. It optimises cash payments and benefits elderly Hong Kong people living in the mainland," Sun said.

Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Darryl Chan meanwhile pointed out that the two banks have more than 3,800 branches in the two provinces.