HSBCnet: corporate banking platform for the digital age

Companies are increasingly operating in a complex integrated world, which is making huge demands on them to effectively and quickly manage their finance, cash flows and liquidity.

An Accenture¹ global survey of financial service consumers noted that more than half of all its respondents expressed an appetite for a true omni-channel banking experience that would allow them to switch seamlessly between physical and digital channels.

In the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT) region, central banks and regulators are also setting the stage for a digital banking evolution. Regulators in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have initiated steps toward modernising their retail payments infrastructure or defining new digital payments regulations through initiatives such as Instant Payments that went live in 2019.

“Today’s consumers, SMEs, corporations, and government entities increasingly require real-time, 24x7 payments that can meet their instant social interactions, spending behaviours, and core business processes centred on the rapid release of products and goods,” according to management consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH).²

Indeed, MENAT digital consumers have become comfortable with digital payments – 15% of all consumer payments in the UAE, Bahrain and Oman were done online, according to BAH.

Pymnts.com’s Global Cash Index³ estimates that Middle Eastern consumers made US$ 0.9 trillion in cash payments in 2016, a number which is expected to rise to US$ 1.4 trillion by 2021.

Corporations are also eager to embrace digitisation to improve efficiencies and reduce costs in their organisations. Increasingly, corporations want their banks to process faster payments, and corporate treasurers want their banks to provide more dynamic reporting of liquidity positions and forex exposures in place of today’s end-of-day reporting practices.

A digital banking platform

Enter HSBCnet⁴, a one-window solution that provides a comprehensive picture of a client’s global banking needs in one place, 24x7.

The platform offers a comprehensive suite of flexible online financial solutions, designed to help customers increase their productivity and effectively manage cash flow. Features such as the real-time global account access and customisable setup allows customers to maintain oversight of their finances at every level of their organisation.

According to Noor Adhami⁵, HSBC’s regional head of Global Liquidity and Cash Management, MENAT, governments and central banks in the region are increasingly supportive of digital innovation and HSBC has made a strong commitment to all things digital.

“In addition to a global digital investment programme of USD 17 billion, the bank has also been at the forefront of implementing new technologies that benefit clients, as well as assisting leading corporate treasuries with digitisation to improve efficiency and reduce costs. It’s a journey every business should be on.”

Providing a complete picture is important for customers who have a global reach, multi-functional operations, and evolving needs.

HSBC provides a one-window, engaging interface that is aimed at providing the complete picture of the company’s global cash management, trade and supply chain.

The HSBCnet ecosystem allows companies to stay on top of their payments, receivables, while having access to the latest data points, including real-time transaction reporting on a single interface.

Given that each company has different needs, HSBCnet offers customisable solutions in a variety of formats, including different languages and time zones.

Customers can move from cash management, to trade and supply chain tools, and securities and global markets solutions seamlessly.

Going mobile

Corporate customers now expect their banking solutions to be available via apps on multiple devices such as smartphones and tablets.

HSBC has more than 4,000 corporate clients actively using mobile to access their accounts in the region. In 2018 around 48,000 payments were authorised via the HSBCnet mobile platform⁶ with the value of US$ 3.6 billion, according to HSBC’s internal statistics.

HSBC says more than US$ 200 billion has been authorised on its mobile platform, with the app available in more than 40 markets.

At the heart of the mobile application is the security features, including a biometric technology, Face ID, which securely logs you into your iPhone X with a simple glance. Expect multi-level security, encryptions and secondary authentication to be standard features of the mobile application.

The app, which was named Best Mobile Technology Solutions in 2019 by Treasury Management International⁷, allows C-level executives or other key executives to view account positions, authorise critical payments and track transactions anywhere, and whenever they need to.

All products and services HSBC offers are subject to eligibility.

[1] https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/Accenture/next-gen-3/DandM-Global-Research-Study/Accenture-Banking-Global-Distribution-Marketing-Consumer-Study.pdfla=en
[2] https://www.boozallen.com/content/dam/boozallen_site/dig/pdf/white_paper/doubling-digital-payments-in-mena.pdf
[3] https://www.pymnts.com/cash/2018/cardtronics-bkm-middle-east-africa-digital-payment-methods/
[4] https://www.hsbcnet.com/
[5] https://www.business.hsbc.ae/en-gb/article/mena-digital-transformation
[6] https://www.business.hsbc.ae/en-gb/ae/campaign/hsbcnet-mobile-app-now-with-faceid
[7] https://www.treasury-management.com/article/1/437/3650/here-come-the-winners%852019-awards-for-innovation-%26-excellence.html