HSBC targets Hong Kong start-ups, SMEs with digital ‘Sprint’ account as it embraces technology
- Account latest in bank’s digital strategy with 15 initiatives for small, medium-sized businesses in Hong Kong since 2017
- HSBC targeting businesses that have been incorporated for less than three years
As HSBC expands its digital offerings to consumers and business clients, the human touch will remain at the centre of the customer relationship, according to Terence M C Chiu, HSBC’s head of commercial banking for Hong Kong.
The bank, which is one of three lenders authorised to print money in Hong Kong, has introduced 15 digital initiatives for small and medium-sized businesses over the past two years as it embraces technology “to make the interaction [with customers] a lot smarter and quicker”.
On Wednesday, HSBC introduced its first account tailored for start-ups and new small businesses, the Sprint account.
The bank uses technology to make it easier for new businesses to apply for an account digitally in about 20 minutes and provides access to a suite of tools to help manage payroll and human resources functions, as well as collection services, including PayMe for Business and HSBC Business Collect.
“When I talk about technology and people, it’s not about technology replacing people,” Chiu said. “It’s about people mastering the technology, [about] how to make the best handshake between the two. To deliver what the customer wants is the ultimate destiny.”
The new offering comes as Hong Kong encourages the development of more start-ups, with the city earmarking HK$2 billion (US$255 million) in 2017 to help develop local innovation and technology entrepreneurs.
Daniel H Y Chan, HSBC’s head of business banking for Hong Kong, said that the account was developed after receiving feedback from more than 1,000 businesses and spending time at co-working spaces to better understand the needs of start-ups.
To qualify for the account, companies have to be registered in Hong Kong, operate in the city and only have a single layer of leadership, Chan said. They have to be within three years of incorporation and have less than US$3 million a year in turnover.
HSBC said it would waive a monthly service for new Sprint account customers for their first 12 months as a way to help support new businesses.
The bank said it opens more than 1,000 new accounts for business customers in Hong Kong each month, with more than 80 per cent of the accounts opened by businesses that are less than three years old. New account openings have grown at a double digit rate in the last year, Chan said.
Despite the digital tools available, including a virtual assistant to help with banking enquiries, small business customers and start-ups will still be able to receive advice from 11 commercial banking centres HSBC has in Hong Kong, the bank said.
“We haven’t forgotten about the human touch,” Chiu said.
The HSBC offering to small business customers comes as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority awarded its first three licences under the city’s new virtual banking scheme last week.
HSBC opted not to apply for a digital licence, but the bank has said that it has enhanced its digital offerings in recent years and those offerings are an “integral part of our strategy”.
