Say goodbye to "9 to 5"! Multiple brokerages are rushing to offer 7×24 hour bank-securities transfers, with technology and compliance becoming key battlegrounds

Interface News Reporter | Chen Jing

Bank-Securities Transfers to Say Goodbye to “9 to 4” Hours

Recently, several brokerages have piloted and launched 24/7 bank-securities transfer services, breaking the traditional “trading hours 9:00-16:00” time constraints and enabling investors to freely transfer funds across banks and securities accounts at any time.

According to an incomplete review by Interface News, currently, many brokerages such as Ping An Securities, Zhongtai Securities (600918.SH), Hualong Securities, Guojin Securities (600109.SH), and Zhejiang Securities (601878.SH) have implemented this service, with partner banks including Ping An Bank, China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, and more than ten other mainstream banks. Different brokerages focus on different aspects of the service, but most are still in pilot phases within the industry.

Among them, Ping An Securities currently supports at least eight banks, covering both regular and margin accounts; Zhongtai Securities, Zhejiang Securities, and others are gradually expanding their bank partnerships, focusing on optimizing deposit services.

Most brokerages have clarified that the service strictly follows third-party custody systems, with funds transferred only between accounts in the investor’s name, without fund advances. Multiple risk controls ensure fund safety, and services are only briefly suspended during system maintenance in the early morning and at the end of trading days.

In February, new A-share account openings totaled 2.523 million, down 11% year-over-year. The traditional growth logic of the industry is weakening, shifting competition from commission price wars to user service experience. Against this backdrop, the popularization of 24/7 bank-securities transfers signals an important industry transformation.

“24/7 bank-securities transfer is a significant breakthrough for brokerages leveraging financial technology to optimize services and meet investor needs, and it is also a key tool for industry differentiation,” an industry analyst told Interface News. He noted that investor demands in the capital market are becoming increasingly diverse, especially among individual investors who require more convenience and timeliness in fund usage. Pain points such as emergency withdrawals on weekends, night-time rebalancing and replenishment, and early deposits during holidays have long constrained investor experience. “The widespread adoption of this service can effectively solve the timing dilemma of fund transfers and enhance customer stickiness for brokerages, especially in retaining existing clients and attracting new ones.”

“From a market liquidity perspective, the current A-share market is cautious, with liquidity needing improvement. 24/7 bank-securities transfers can break the time barriers of fund transfers and improve fund utilization efficiency,” he further explained. The ability to freely transfer funds outside trading hours helps investors seize sudden market opportunities in a timely manner and significantly increases the flexibility of securities account funds, indirectly boosting market activity and generating more trading commissions for brokerages.

An IT professional from a brokerage told Interface News, “For brokerages, implementing this service not only enhances service capabilities but also demonstrates financial technology strength. It can promote increased investment in technology R&D, improve risk control systems, and drive the coordinated development of wealth management, margin trading, and other related businesses, helping the industry shift from ‘pass-through’ to ‘service-oriented’ models.” Citing data that new margin trading accounts increased by 20% year-over-year in February, he believes that convenient fund transfer services can further stimulate margin trading demand and create new profit growth points for brokerages.

Behind these opportunities, multiple risks cannot be ignored. The IT professional warned that the 24/7 service’s around-the-clock nature places higher demands on brokerages’ system stability and risk management capabilities. “Traditional bank-securities transfers only operate on trading days, giving brokerages ample time for system maintenance and risk checks. Continuous operation means systems must run constantly. Any system failures, cyberattacks, or other issues could cause transfer errors, fund delays, and impact investor rights, even leading to reputational risks.”

Currently, many brokerages have clarified that 24/7 bank-securities transfers strictly follow third-party custody systems and do not involve fund advances. However, monitoring fund transfers outside trading hours still faces challenges. “Round-the-clock transfers increase the difficulty of anti-money laundering monitoring, and suspicious transfers during non-trading hours are harder to detect promptly, posing a major test for brokerages’ compliance and risk control systems,” said a head of online financial services at a brokerage. He added that some small and medium-sized brokerages may lack sufficient technological investment and robust risk teams, making it difficult to meet the demands of continuous risk monitoring, which could lead to compliance gaps.

Additionally, rising operational costs are a real pressure for brokerages. The aforementioned online financial services head further explained that to ensure stable operation of 24/7 services, brokerages need ongoing investment in system upgrades, technical maintenance, and staffing. “Leading brokerages have enough capital and technological strength to handle these costs easily, but smaller firms may lack the necessary investment, resulting in uneven service quality and potential client loss, further widening industry disparities.”

“To build core competitive advantages in internet-based businesses, brokerages need to focus precisely on three key areas: technological infrastructure, business models, and organizational structure,” said Ye Wei, head of terminal business at Hang Seng Electronics.

He pointed out that, on the technical side, efforts should be made to develop an integrated intelligent platform that deeply combines data, AI, and scenarios to solidify digital service foundations. In terms of business models, brokerages should abandon short-term “traffic harvesting” thinking and shift toward long-term “deep value companionship” models to cultivate high-loyalty core clients. Organizationally, they should break down traditional departmental barriers and form integrated teams around core service needs, combining “business, technology, and data” to improve internal collaboration and service responsiveness.