2026 Golden Stone Award | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China: Innovative services warm the elderly community, steadily composing a "great article" in pension finance

Special Topic: 2026 Golden Stone Award and Financial Consumer Protection Outstanding Case Selection

The results of the “2026 Golden Stone Award and Financial Consumer Protection Outstanding Case Selection” hosted by Sina Finance have been announced. This issue features an outstanding case of convenient and elderly-friendly services. Among many financial institutions competing, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) stood out with its submission titled “Innovative Services Warm the Silver Age Group, Solidly Writing the Big Article on Retirement Finance,” winning the “Outstanding Case of Convenient and Elderly-Friendly Services” award.

Below is a brief summary of the case:

ICBC thoroughly implements the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, actively responds to the national strategy on aging, and develops a distinctive “big article” on retirement finance in the new era. The bank explores new paths for elderly-friendly services, creating a comprehensive “financial + broad financial” service system covering the entire cycle of “preparing for old age - elderly-friendly - retirement - enjoying old age,” demonstrating practical actions in writing the big article on retirement finance.

In 2025, ICBC upgraded its “ICBC Love Companion” service system, comprehensively advancing elderly-friendly transformation across online and offline channels and payment services. It built a “three-in-one” exclusive activity rights matrix and innovatively launched the “Silver Industry Cloud” smart operation platform for retirement scenarios. Multiple measures ensure that seniors and their families enjoy safer, more convenient, and more efficient retirement payment services; help active seniors better integrate into the digital financial era and bridge the “digital divide”; and enable “health and wellness” seniors to access quality benefits at their fingertips, extending retirement financial services to a broader elderly population.

First, a new “ICBC Love Companion” brand image for elder customers was launched, creating a warm, festive, and respectful atmosphere for seniors. Elderly-focused service products and convenient services were carefully selected, and the “Elder Financial Service Manual (2025 Edition)” (large print version) was compiled and widely distributed at retirement financial outlets for easy access. A “one-page service guide” was designed and promoted to help seniors understand our exclusive services. A new mid- to long-term “Fortune Full” series of exclusive financial products was introduced, regularly selecting elderly-friendly funds, insurance products, and rights, continuously improving the investment product matrix and enriching the brand connotation.

Second, efforts were made to help seniors bridge the “digital divide” and improve their experience. Focus areas include account security management, establishing a long-term cash service mechanism, multi-channel elderly-friendly transformation and convenient payment scene construction, and the coordinated development of traditional and emerging payment methods. The goal is to enhance the payment service level for seniors. Over 6,800 retirement financial outlets were established, including barrier-free demonstration outlets. The “Happy Life” version (large print) of mobile banking was innovated, and a direct call service to human customer service for elder clients was launched. Elder-friendly financial products and retirement service scenarios were introduced, and full-channel elderly-friendly upgrades were promoted.

Third, a “three-in-one” exclusive activity matrix was created to make benefits more tangible. The “Elder Customer Exclusive Rewards” series of activities was innovated, precisely delivering elderly benefits, with over 3 million participants in 2025. ICBC partnered with China UnionPay to launch the “ICBC Love Companion, Vitality Towards the Future” retirement benefits service, covering five core services in medical health and wellness care, benefiting 40 million special elder customers. This includes discounts at over 600 quality wellness institutions across 21 provinces and cities nationwide, care services at over 9,975 public hospitals nationwide, and home care discounts in over 4,000 regions across 23 provinces and cities. Additionally, the “Warmth” series of activities has been continuously held over five years during major festivals such as Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Double Ninth Festival, combining local resources and benefits to carry out themed services like “Respect for the Elderly,” anti-telecom fraud, and anti-money laundering education.

Fourth, ICBC developed the “Silver Industry Cloud” retirement scenario smart operation platform and a one-stop convenient payment platform. Intelligent technology enhances meal delivery services for seniors, allowing facial recognition and payment calculation at mealtime, with automatic multi-level and age-based subsidy verification, greatly simplifying the payment process. By the end of 2025, the platform covered 30 provinces, serving over 400 retirement institutions and more than 1,000 elder dining halls, benefiting nearly one million seniors and their families. Additionally, to meet high-frequency payment needs such as water, electricity, gas, property, and community services, ICBC launched the “Family Account” and “Scheduled Deduction” functions, transforming traditional multiple trips and steps into “zero trips, one-click processing.”

In 2025, ICBC, centered on happy aging, continuously deepened account security, convenient channel services, and payment facilitation for seniors. The brand image was upgraded through digital intelligence, expanding retirement financial scenarios and making services more accessible. By the end of 2025, ICBC served over 220 million seniors aged 55 and above, managed more than 12 trillion yuan in financial assets, and significantly expanded “financial + broad financial” service scenarios, greatly enhancing the sense of financial gain, happiness, and security among elderly customers.