A researcher on Thursday said the new cross-boundary banking arrangement for social welfare payments is a breakthrough in financial system integration among Hong Kong and the mainland.

This came after Chief Executive John Lee on Wednesday announced that Hong Kong retirees living in Fujian and Guangdong provinces would be allowed to claim their social welfare payments directly through their mainland bank accounts from July, saying it would make retirement on the mainland more convenient for elderly Hongkongers.

Assistant Research Director Dicky Chow at Our Hong Kong Foundation told an RTHK programme the next step could be expanding such measures to include monthly regular payments, such as other government subsidies and financial products.

"Elders decide to live in the mainland due to the lower living cost there. For the same financial product, the payback is the same, but elderly's consumption power increases when they are on the mainland," he said.

"This helps increase their quality of life," he added.

Chow said the government should ensure operations go smoothly by making application procedures as simple as possible when the new arrangements take place.

He also said the administration should take note of potential new scam activities given that the scheme involves the cross-border transfer of money.

Meanwhile, DAB lawmaker Elaine Chik told RTHK that such arrangements could reduce the worries of elders who reside on the mainland by removing all cross-boundary transfer risks.

"With the new policy, allowances go straight to senior's accounts in the mainland. There will be no transfer fees and the money will be in Hong Kong dollars as well," she said.

"Seniors know exactly how much they are getting, and they can easily and safely withdraw money at big mainland banks," she added.

She urged the government to provide more support measures to make cross-boundary retirement more convenient, such as looking into adding other e-payment options so elders can fit into the mainland's cashless lifestyle, and set up a regular monitoring system to make sure everything runs smoothly.



Edited by Tony Sabine