HONG KONG, Feb. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — With the continuous development of the Greater Bay Area, data flow between Shenzhen and Hong Kong becomes increasingly frequent. Recently, WeBank Technology Services, in collaboration with Certizen Technology from Hong Kong, launched an innovative application in the education sector on the Shenzhen–Hong Kong cross-boundary data validation platform, supporting Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in securely and efficiently verifying the educational information of students from Chinese mainland. This application not only facilitates relevant process for these students studying in Hong Kong, but can also support Hong Kong universities in optimizing the admission review processes and safeguarding academic integrity.
Instant Verification Improves Admission Review Efficiency
In recent years, the number of Chinese mainland students applying to Hong Kong universities has been on the rise. For graduate applications alone, Hong Kong universities receive tens of thousands of documents such as diplomas, degree certificates, and transcripts each year. While manual verification is time-consuming and prone to errors, there are also challenges that online cross-boundary data transmission faces, including the high compliance threshold for sensitive personal data and the lack of necessary digital infrastructure. There is an urgent need for an innovative solution to efficiently verify educational information while complying with regulations in both regions.
In January 2025, WeBank Technology Services and Certizen Technology proposed an innovative solution for reliable academic credential verification on the Shenzhen–Hong Kong cross-boundary data validation platform. Chinese mainland students can obtain their academic documents through a trusted data space built by the Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen. The platform generates a hash value ("data fingerprint") for the documents using cryptographic algorithms and records it on the blockchain to ensure data immutability.
After students submit their application materials on the university’s official website, the university generates a set of "data fingerprint" based on the same cryptographic algorithm. The university then compares the two sets of ‘data fingerprint’ on the cross-boundary data validation platform to verify the authenticity and consistency of the data. During the verification process, the platform does not access the original documents, but only compares the online "data fingerprint" to quickly complete the reliable verification.
As the first university to connect to the platform, PolyU’s Policy Research Centre for Innovation and Technology (PReCIT) predicts a trimmed verification cycle from eight hours to under two minutes per 100 applications while maintaining accuracy by combining this innovative solution with the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) and its verifiable credential technology.
The First Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cross-boundary Data Infrastructure Expands to New Scenarios
The launch of the cross-boundary academic credential verification service marks a significant breakthrough of the Shenzhen–Hong Kong cross-boundary data validation platform in the education sector. It was jointly developed under the guidance and support of government departments from both regions. It is operated by China (Qianhai) Internet Exchange, Shenzhen Credit Service and WeBank Technology Services. WeBank providing the overall solution design and technical support.
The service platform is developed based on the Distributed Data Transmission Protocol (DDTP) concept proposed by WeBank, and is built with the technology ofthe open source blockchain platform FISCO BCOS. It uses the immutability and traceability of blockchain technology to secure authenticity of user-carried data through hash value verification, meeting cross-boundary data regulatory requirements while safely and efficiently enabling cross-boundary data flow. Notably, DDTP has successfully obtained approval for standardization from the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA). This positions DDTP to potentially become the first international standard in the field of trustworthy personal data portability.
As the first digital cross-boundary infrastructure between Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, the Shenzhen–Hong Kong cross-boundary data validation platform has been applied in eight scenarios across institutions, including MSME financing, enterprise account opening, and cross-boundary tuition payment. It has not only provided convenience for residents and enterprises in both regions but also injected new energy into the deep integration and high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area’s economy.
About WeBank Technology Services
Launched in Hong Kong in June 2024, WeBank Technology Services sets out to leverage WeBank’s cutting-edge fintech capabilities and digital finance best practice to deliver a variety of superior digital finance and digital infrastructure solutions to digital banks, financial institutions, government agencies, and industry partners worldwide.
About WeBank
Launched in 2014, WeBank Co., Ltd. ("WeBank") is the first digital bank in China. WeBank provides convenient financial services to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the public, and continuously improves the quality of services in response to customers’ specific needs. WeBank ranks No. 1 in The Asian Banker’s Global Top 100 Digital Banks in 2025. By June 2024, WeBank has served over 400 million retail customers and 5 million MSMEs.
WeBank focuses on innovation and technology. WeBank has maintained its proportion of technical personnel above 50% since its establishment, while its research and development expenses have accounted for around 10% of its revenue. WeBank is now at the top of the industry in core technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud computing and big data.