How ICBC’s “Gongyin Counter Connect” Transforms Branch Operations with Digital Technology

On September 5, 2023 the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s News Promotion Center and the Beijing Communications Administration co‑hosted the 2023 China International Service Trade Fair “Enterprise Digital Transformation Forum” in Beijing, focusing on “Digital Leadership, High‑Quality Development.” Government officials, researchers, operators and digital‑transformation enterprises attended.

The forum announced the results of the 2023 “Digital Influence” transformation case‑collection, receiving nearly 100 enterprise submissions. After expert review, 10 firms were named “Leading Enterprises,” 5 experts were recognized as “Leading Figures,” and 58 cases were selected as “Innovative Cases.” The selected cases reflect the latest trends in China’s corporate digital transformation.

ICBC’s “Gongyin Counter Connect” Platform was highlighted as an innovative case. The platform rebuilds the branch terminal business architecture, leveraging digital technologies to improve operational efficiency and service quality.

Key Innovations

Remote Business Processing : Utilizes audio‑video and other digital tools to enable real‑time remote handling of branch services, offering fast, convenient, and seamless customer interactions.

Digital Customer Manager : Provides intelligent assistance, verification, risk alerts, and “machine‑replace‑human” capabilities, creating a warm, interactive service experience.

Online‑Offline Integration : Connects with mobile banking to unify processes, enabling seamless service flow between channels.

Core Service Capabilities

Comprehensive Service Perception : Uses customer profiles and appointment data to anticipate needs and deliver cross‑channel, coordinated experiences while proactively diagnosing issues.

Agile Service Supply : Integrates deposit, withdrawal, transfer, and remittance scenarios, supports flexible decoupling of processes, and offers guided, one‑click operations for complex services such as account opening, cross‑border transactions, and inheritance.

Embedded Marketing Support : Shares marketing data across channels, provides product recommendations based on compliance, simplicity, and precision, and enables real‑time interaction between online and remote staff.

Remote Online Service : Offers enterprise‑level instant messaging, audio‑video, screen annotation, knowledge‑base search, digital employee assistance, and expert connection for real‑time support.

Process Risk‑Control Mechanism : Incorporates pre‑, during‑, and post‑process risk checks using anti‑fraud, AML data, dynamic verification, transaction limits, and multi‑dimensional data collection for continuous model improvement.

The platform has earned multiple honors, including the “Innovation Star” award at the 3rd China AI Competition, the “Zhenxing Cup” national youth skills competition award, the People’s Bank of China FinTech Development Award (3rd place), and seven national patents for audio‑visual and data transmission technologies.

From the customer perspective, the platform seamlessly links online appointment, in‑branch guidance, remote handling, marketing recommendations, and post‑service follow‑up, delivering a smooth, personalized banking experience. From the staff perspective, it reduces operational complexity, enhances branch combat effectiveness, and strengthens risk control through integrated digital tools.

The “Gongyin Counter Connect” platform will be deployed across more than 15,000 ICBC branches, upgrading the foundational architecture, boosting employee value creation, and providing higher‑quality branch services.