HSBC is developing an open banking platform that would allow customers to view all of their accounts, including those held with other banks.
The UK bank is moving ahead quickly on this plan, with testing set to begin in October for 10,000 customers. This initiative is intended to become available to all customers next year.
Open banking from HSBC is set to grant the customer the ability to include their accounts from as many as 21 banks including other major players such as Barclays.
Projects like this may be set to become more common in the near future, with the PSD2 directive coming into effect in January 2018. This alteration will relinquish the control of data from major banks, allowing third-party providers to offer their services tobanking customers.
This change is set to be one of the most significant changes to traditional banking in history, and the established banks will have to embrace is and innovate to avoid becoming a commodity.
Raman Bhatia, Head of Digital, HSBC, UK & Europe, says: “Lots of people ask us if a big bank like HSBC is relevant in today’s competitive fintech landscape. What sets us apart is that we have millions of customers, which provides a unique insight into how we can continue to improve our digital banking offering.”
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It is now more necessary than ever that banks work alongside fintechs to benefit from their innovation and agility, while still having to maintain legacy features that remain integral pillars.
“The HSBC Beta platform allows us to test, learn and develop in a live environment, and then deploy the new technology at scale. To achieve this, we have changed from the inside out putting in place digital delivery teams that are completely cross-functional, including all the skills we need in one place – developers, designers, risk and compliance and marketing,” said Bhatia.
