HSBC Holdings is set to debut an international payments app aimed at directly challenging the dominance of fintechs like Revolut and Wise, which have attracted tens of millions of retail customers by offering cheap foreign currency. .
Zing will initially be available in the UK, but Europe’s largest bank plans to roll it out elsewhere in the coming months as it seeks to capture a share of the fast-growing market serving wealthy consumers.
The app will be available on Apple’s App Store and Alphabet’s Google Play platform within the next few days, according to Nuno Matos, the bank’s global chief executive. It will also be available to customers other than HSBC as it prepares for “attacks”. Wealth and personal banking. Matos said it takes about three minutes for a new user to sign up.
“Zing has global ambitions,” Matos said in an interview. “We want to establish ourselves as a global platform for cross-border payments. This is fully aligned with HSBC’s cross-border payments strategy and will soon see us in the Asian, Middle East and EU markets. You will be able to see it.”
The move comes as some global financial giants have expanded rapidly over the past decade, offering services ranging from cross-border payments to savings accounts to investment products on mobile devices. This shows how the company is trying to compete with new startups.
Wise’s shares, which went public in London in 2021, rose more than 50% last year. With over 26 million users, Revolut expects its revenue to increase by almost 70% to US$2 billion in 2023.
HSBC leads Hong Kong banks by keeping prime rate unchanged
HSBC leads Hong Kong banks by keeping prime rate unchanged
HSBC already offers a product called Global Money, which provides fee-free currency services to existing customers. Since its debut in 2020, the service has attracted hundreds of thousands of customers and processed approximately USD 11 billion worth of transactions in 2022.
Matos expects Zing to attract more users who might consider banking with HSBC as part of its push to become a leading financial institution for international mobile customers, which began last year.
“This is a bold move for us,” Matos said. “This is HSBC playing outside of their traditional customer boundaries and really attacking them with contingents if they want to. Contingents are large and growing; They look like us and are here for us.”