Bank of China launches international medical insurance payment platform in Guangdong
Fifteen hospitals joined the new platform, which connects insurance direct payment, cross-border settlement and encrypted claims documents.
Published by CareAtlas · Editorial policy
Bank of China launched its “Zhongyin Yi e Chang” international medical finance platform in Guangzhou on October 15, 2026. The service connects hospitals, insurers and other providers involved in cross-border treatment, addressing the payment and claims arrangements that accompany medical care.
Fifteen hospitals join at launch
The first participating group comprised 15 Guangdong international medical pilot hospitals. It included Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Nanfang Hospital, Zhujiang Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine and the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University. The published list also covered hospitals in Shantou, Zhuhai and Foshan.
Ping An Health, Taikang Life and CITIC-Prudential were among the mainland insurers that signed agreements. The announcement separately described cooperation intentions with several Hong Kong and Macao insurers; those intentions were not presented as completed direct-payment agreements.
An actual direct-payment transaction
The day before launch, Bank of China Group Insurance and Nanfang Hospital’s Huiqiao Building completed a first commercial insurance direct-payment transaction. The account reports that supporting arrangements for cross-border transfer of personal information and foreign-exchange checks were implemented alongside it.
The platform uses bank credit to support insurer obligations in direct-payment arrangements. This changes the traditional system in which an insurer negotiates and deposits guarantees separately with individual hospitals. Participating institutions can instead connect through a shared channel.
Payments and claims documents travel together
The settlement service links to Bank of China’s global clearing network. It supports cross-border renminbi settlement for medical insurance claims, foreign-currency exchange and transfers of claims funds, with checks on the relevant foreign-exchange documents.
The digital service also provides point-to-point encrypted transmission of claims documents between insurers and partner hospitals. Big-data and blockchain components support the platform’s data exchange and verification processes.