How one bank is aiming to ease the stress of customers relocating overseas
- With borders reopened, the pace of globalisation is accelerating; an increasing number of people have moved or plan to move abroad for work and study
- HSBC taps into its global network with a digital community, and upgrades its international banking services to make relocation easier for clients
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The pace of global mobility and the speed at which technological advances are accelerating is changing how – and where – we live. According to a survey by the Boston Consulting Group of 50,000 people in 79 cities around the world, half of them have relocated to another city, while another 48 per cent of respondents were considering a move in the future.
However, the excitement of moving to a new country is often overshadowed by uncertainties: establishing new friendships, settling children into a new school, mastering an unfamiliar transport system, transferring bank accounts and dealing with other financial matters can all take their emotional toll.
Insights from a recent HSBC study, which surveyed more than 7,000 individuals in nine locations including Hong Kong, suggest that it takes around eight months on average for individuals to feel settled in a new location. A quarter of participants reported needing at least a year to settle into a new life abroad.
The study also found that among those relocating to Hong Kong, 54 per cent felt unsettled because of difficulties in setting up day-to-day essentials such as mobile phone packages, internet connectivity and banking services. In addition, 75 per cent of the respondents found it difficult to find the right financial services for their needs, leading to anxiety about access to their funds.
“These insights helped us recognise that relocating can be both financially and emotionally challenging,” says Brian Hui, head of customer proposition and marketing, wealth and personal banking at HSBC in Hong Kong, adding that the survey indicates the best ways to settle into a new life abroad include socialising with local people, embracing the local culture and networking through business.
The bank, which grew its number of global customers to 6 million last year, is exploring ways to help make the transition to a new country easier. They include the relaunch of HSBC’s international products and services, as well as features that aim to better support its international customer base.
A key initiative to come off the back of the survey was the setting up of an online support community that connected international citizens. Called “Unforeign Exchange”, the platform, hosted on the bank’s Instagram page for six weeks earlier this year, featured a series of films and local city guides, as well as live question-and-answer sessions with HSBC staff who shared their experiences of relocating overseas.
The initiative was designed to help anyone with an HSBC account (anywhere in the world) with their move to another country.
“In a new environment, some international citizens may be struggling with emotional, geographical and cultural challenges,” Hui says. “The ideal people to offer help and advice are our international staff in different locations. They offer huge diversity and they are all around the world. When they moved to a new place, they encountered challenges and overcame them.”
The exchange featured insights from brand ambassadors, such as young British tennis player Emma Raducanu, as well as influencers including creative make-up artist and YouTuber, Tina Yong, who shared stories of how their global travel exposed them to new experiences and opportunities.
The hybrid format of a digital exchange platform and a physical omnichannel for sharing information enabled HSBC to obtain data in real time. This provided valuable feedback for developing solutions to improve the bank’s international services. “We could look at the topics that were trending, and identify pain points. All these elements go into enhancing the journey of our international clients,” Hui says.
“The launch of Unforeign Exchange was a first big step as HSBC makes an online format available to help international clients bridge the gap between moving and belonging,” he adds.
HSBC has also launched its International 3.0 banking service, a revamped version of its digital offerings for international clients, with added features to help ease the process of activating personal banking services upon relocating.
For instance, individuals moving to the United Kingdom are usually required to be in the country to open a bank account there – and the process can take up to a month to complete. “At their places of origin and before departure, our clients can use our mobile banking app to open bank accounts in the new locations,” Hui says. “The time needed from processing the application to approval is shortened to three days on average. We courier the debit cards to them in advance so that they can use them upon arrival.”
HSBC has also introduced an international credit limit matching service to streamline the credit card application process, using its global ecosystem across different jurisdictions to access clients’ credit records and references.
This service enables HSBC Premier clients arriving in Hong Kong, for instance, to apply for the same credit card limit they hold with HSBC elsewhere, saving customers time and possible anxiety, as they only need to deal with one bank, Hui adds.
HSBC has also improved clients’ global payment experience in Hong Kong by enabling them to make overseas remittances and payments 24/7 and free of charge on the bank’s HK Mobile Banking app.
The bank says these new value-added international banking services and the insights shared on the Unforeign Exchange platform will increase brand engagement and help individuals settle more quickly in new locations.
“We have the edge in global banking,” Hui says. “Our 6 million international clients use our services regularly and give us feedback, and we have built a wealth of data. With the launch of International 3.0, we aim to address these pain points.”