To further improve the shopping and departure tax refund experience for overseas travelers in Shenzhen, Bank of China has upgraded its self-service kiosks for departure value-added tax (VAT) refunds, further enhancing paperless processing and enabling its Refund-Upon-Purchase service to be processed across different tax refund agents. The upgrades are designed to turn the benefits of the departure tax refund policy into greater convenience for overseas travelers.

A citywide tax refund network

Covering commercial areas, hotels, airports, ports, exhibitions, and other shopping and travel scenarios, BOC has established a citywide departure tax refund service network in Shenzhen and upgraded its centralized refund disbursement services for Refund-Upon-Purchase in eight commercial areas across Luohu, Futian, and Nanshan districts. After shopping at a tax-refund store in Shenzhen, overseas travelers can process their tax refunds at the nearest service point, regardless of where they shopped or which store they visited, allowing for citywide convenience.

An overseas traveler at a BOC centralized refund disbursement point for Refund-Upon-Purchase in Shenzhen.

BOC has expanded the settings in which departure tax refunds are available, processing Shenzhen's first centralized departure tax refund in a hotel setting. Overseas travelers can now have purchases made at different stores processed together in a single tax refund transaction at their hotel.

A paperless, self-service process

At BOC's centralized refund disbursement point for Refund-Upon-Purchase at KKMALL in Shenzhen, an overseas tourist completed China's first paperless self-service tax refund transaction using a self-service kiosk for departure VAT refunds. The latest upgrade to the terminal makes the entire refund process paperless. Previously, overseas travelers seeking tax refunds had to retain and have multiple paper documents verified, making the process cumbersome. Following the upgrade, travelers need only present personal identification to complete the entire process at a self-service kiosk, from identity verification and purchase-record retrieval to tax refund application and fund settlement. The whole process takes only two minutes, further improving the tax refund experience.

An overseas traveler uses a self-service kiosk for paperless one-click processing of multiple tax refund claims in Shenzhen.

Instant refunds, ready to spend

BOC has integrated e-CNY hard wallets into the departure tax refund process. After completing a tax refund at a self-service kiosk, travelers can have the refund paid directly into an e-CNY hard wallet without connecting to the internet, downloading an application, or linking a bank card. The funds can then be used at micro and small merchants, on public transport, and in other offline settings, enabling travelers to receive and use their tax refunds immediately and extending the benefits of the policy to a broader range of market participants.

A customer inserts an e-CNY hard wallet card into a self-service kiosk to receive a tax refund.

BOC will continue to leverage its global and integrated strengths to advance the application of technology, broaden its service scenarios, and streamline business processes, providing more efficient, convenient, and diverse financial services.