Ministry of Finance, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission: Increase the digitalization rate of bank certificates and promote the implementation of large-scale application scenarios.

May 16th, the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Regulatory Authority issued a notice on accelerating the digitalization of bank confirmation letters. It mentioned that in order to promote the digitalization of bank confirmation letters, a secure, convenient, efficient, and cost-effective bank confirmation letter system should be established. It is important to prioritize safety and benefits, strengthen the development foundation, improve work efficiency, innovate methods, increase the number of entities accessing the bank confirmation letter platform, increase the digitalization rate of bank confirmation letters, and promote the implementation of large-scale application scenarios. Original Text: Ministry of Finance, Financial Regulatory Authority Notice on Accelerating the Digitalization of Bank Confirmation Letters Finance and Accounting [2025] No. 10 Provincial, autonomous region, and municipal finance departments (bureaus), Shenzhen Municipal Finance Bureau, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Finance Bureau, financial regulatory authorities, China Institute of Certified Public Accountants, provincial, autonomous region, and municipal institutes of certified public accountants, Bank Of China Business Association, provincial, autonomous region, and municipal banking associations (guilds), policy banks, large commercial banks, joint-stock banks, foreign banks, corporate financial companies, accounting firms, and other relevant units: In order to implement the opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on further strengthening financial and accounting supervision work, and the opinions of the General Office of the State Council on further regulating the financial audit order and promoting the healthy development of the certified public accountant industry (State Council Office [2021] No. 30), accelerate the digitalization of bank confirmation letters, and effectively improve the quality and efficiency of bank confirmation letter work, further enhance audit quality, the relevant matters are notified as follows: 1. Overall requirements In order to accelerate the digitalization of bank confirmation letters, focus on establishing a secure, convenient, efficient, and cost-effective bank confirmation letter system, prioritize safety and benefits, strengthen the development foundation, improve work efficiency, innovate methods, increase the number of entities accessing the bank confirmation letter platform, increase the digitalization rate of bank confirmation letters, and promote the implementation of large-scale application scenarios. 2. Strengthening the development foundation (1) Continuously strengthen the construction of the bank confirmation letter platform. The construction of the bank confirmation letter platform should promote unified docking rules among all parties, optimize related work processes, and improve the convenience of access for accounting firms and banking financial institutions; identify platform process bottlenecks, continuously upgrade and improve service functions; clarify the responsibilities of all parties, coordinate to ensure the security, continuity, and stability of the operation of the bank confirmation letter platform; grasp the platform intellectual property rights, ensure the independence, autonomy, and controllability of the core underlying technology of the platform; further enhance the ability of the bank confirmation letter platform to support innovative value-added services of digital bank confirmation letters. (2) Enhance the security of the bank confirmation letter platform. The China Institute of Certified Public Accountants consults with the bank confirmation letter platform construction party to formulate and publish information security standards for the bank confirmation letter platform. The relevant bank confirmation letter platform construction party should organize third-party institutions to conduct unified assessment and certification of the relevant bank confirmation letter platform and provide the results to platform users. Accounting firms can use this as a basis for internal control assurance reports to avoid repeated implementation of various forms of similar assessments. (3) Improve the digital standard system of bank confirmation letters. Relevant industry associations should formulate standardized digital bank confirmation letter formatting checks and response group standards, timely promote group standards that are applicable and have good implementation effects to be elevated to national standards. Accounting firms and banking financial institutions should initiate digital bank confirmation letters and responses according to the group standards and business rules published by the industry associations. 3. Improving work efficiency (4) Improve the bank confirmation letter data governance system. Banking financial institutions should strengthen the governance of digital bank confirmation letter data, break information silos, increase the centralization and automation of digital bank confirmation letter processing; explore the establishment of a bank confirmation letter business database, strengthen the analysis and governance of digital bank confirmation letter data, and further promote the goals of standardizing bank confirmation letter business processes, digitizing paths, intensifying operational management, and refining data governance. (5) Improve the quality and efficiency of receiving and responding to bank confirmation letters. Banking financial institutions should provide convenient services for opening processes for enterprise digital bank confirmation letter business, streamline processes, and improve efficiency; reasonably shorten response times, effectively improve the quality and efficiency of information collection and organization for digital bank confirmation letters; continuously optimize the confirmation system to avoid accounting firms sending multiple confirmation letters due to returning or unreturned bank confirmation information. If using both digital and paper bank confirmation letters, the content of digital and paper responses should be consistent. (6) Scientifically establish bank confirmation letter fee standards. Encourage banking financial institutions to implement differentiated pricing for digital and paper bank confirmation letters, and promote the widespread use of digital bank confirmation letters through setting preferential periods and tiered discounts. 4. Innovative methods (7) Innovative value-added services for audit digitization. Encourage banking financial institutions to provide various types of information provision services, and explore providing technical support for value-added services with digital bank confirmation letters through the bank confirmation letter platform construction party. (8) Facilitate enterprise authorization for digital bank confirmation letters. Encourage banking financial institutions to promote digital bank confirmation related businesses to enterprises through various channels, optimize the authorization procedures for enterprises' digital bank confirmation services, shorten the authorization time, increase the authorization channels, and enhance enterprises' awareness and acceptance of digital bank confirmation letters. Relevant industry associations can lead organizations to promote activities aimed at enterprises and create a good atmosphere for the use of digital bank confirmation letters. (9) Encourage expanding the scope of application. Encourage banking financial institutions to expand the application scope of digital bank confirmation letters and explore including various types of bank confirmations such as interbank confirmations, securities business confirmations, and asset valuation confirmations in the scope of digital bank confirmation letter services, connect with the bank confirmation letter platform for processing, and increase the application scenarios of digital bank confirmation letters. 5. Organization and implementation (10) Strengthen organizational leadership. The financial department shall guide and supervise the digitalization of bank confirmation letters for accounting firms in accordance with the law, guide the China Institute of Certified Public Accountants to promote the access of relevant accounting firms in their administrative region to the bank confirmation letter platform. Financial regulatory authorities shall strengthen business guidance for banking financial institutions, promote the work of banking financial institutions in responding to digital bank confirmation letters, and supervise and inspect the digitalization of bank confirmation letters of banking financial institutions in accordance with the law. (11) Strengthen self-discipline management. Relevant industry associations should fulfill their industry self-discipline responsibilities in accordance with the law, strengthen the digitalization work of bank confirmation letters for accounting firms, and promote related accounting firms in the administrative area of the industry to access the bank confirmation letter platform.Promote self-discipline management of digitalization of bank confirmation letters; under the guidance of the business supervisory department, advance the digitalization of bank confirmation letters in accounting firms and banking financial institutions within their jurisdiction, guide accounting firms to accelerate access to banking confirmation letter platforms, and increase the proportion of digital banking confirmation letters sent.Twelve. Strengthen information communication. Banking financial institutions and accounting firms should establish a sound digital banking confirmation business operation mechanism, promptly collect, answer, and resolve issues related to digital banking confirmation of the institution. The relevant platform for banking confirmations should set up a special channel for feedback, information disclosure, and business guidance, understand the needs and opinions of banking financial institutions and accounting firms in a timely manner, and timely release issue resolutions. This notice shall be implemented from the date of issuance. Please forward this notice to relevant local banking financial institutions by all financial regulatory authorities. Ministry of Finance Financial Regulatory Bureau April 30, 2025 This article is excerpted from the Financial Regulatory Bureau, edited by GMTEight: Chen Wenfang.