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HSBC is poised to challenge fintechs like Wise, PayPal and Remitly for a piece of the international money transfer action. The bank’s new international payments app, Zing, is set to launch in the UK and will expand to other countries early this year.
Zing will hit Apple’s App Store and Alphabet’s Google Play in the coming days and will be available to both HSBC and non-HSBC customers. Bank insiders say new users will be able to complete the sign-up process in just three minutes.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Nuno Matos, CEO of HSBC’s global wealth and personal banking business, emphasized the bank’s strategic move to target the global retail payments market.
“Zing has a global ambition,” Matos told Bloomberg. “We want to establish ourselves as a global platform for international payments, which ties perfectly with our international payments strategy for HSBC.”
The move by UK-based HSBC comes as fintech’s influence has exploded. A report by McKinsey forecasts that revenues in the fintech industry will increase almost three times faster than those of big banks between 2022 and 2028. Fintechs are on track to see annual revenues rise by 15% during the next five years, whereas traditional banks are expected to post 6% annual revenue growth.
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What Will Zing Offer Customers?
Zing members can hold up to 10 currencies in the app. This feature allows users traveling in other countries to spend like locals without incurring point-of-sale conversion fees in those currencies. Moreover, Zing enables international transfers across more than 30 currencies, enabling users to spend their money globally.
The transfer app acts as an extension of the Global Money Account available to customers through HSBC’s mobile banking app. Depositors with HSBC checking or savings accounts can hold money in up to eight different currencies and transfer funds to other HSBC customers at no charge.
Will Competition From Zing Make It Cheaper For Customers To Transfer Money?
In the competitive landscape of cross-border money transfers, companies like Wise (formerly TransferWise) and WorldRemit have positioned themselves as cost-effective alternatives to traditional banks.
HSBC has already taken a big step by providing current customers fee-free transfers via its Global Money account. A Zing spokesperson has said that the new app’s transfer fees will start at 0.6% and vary according to the transaction value.
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