British banking giants HSBC and RBS are coming up with new digital banking platforms, as the competition for digitally savvy customers steps up in the face of a wave of online startups. HSBC rolled out a new app-based business banking service - previously known internally as ‘Project Iceberg’ and now named ‘HSBC Kinetic’ - in beta testing mode, while RBS is giving the final touches to its new digital bank 'Bo' ahead of a public roll-out later this month.
Britain’s high street lenders are investing billions of pounds in new or refreshed digital services to meet growing customer demand. But they are playing catch-up when it comes to matching the technology of fast-growing startups like Monzo, Starling and Tandem. HSBC Kinetic will offer small businesses mobile-managed current accounts, overdrafts and spending and cashflow insights generated by the app crunching data on a company’s spending habits.
Peter McIntyre, head of UK small business banking for HSBC, said the bank hoped to sign up hundreds of thousands of customers to Kinetic and to roll it out to other countries where HSBC operates. The service has been developed by around 150 staff in London working away from HSBC’s Canary Wharf corporate headquarters. McIntyre said he was undeterred by launching Kinetic in choppy economic conditions in Britain, with recent official data showing company insolvencies hit a five and a half-year high in the third quarter this year. “I think this is the best time to do it, to bring more financial insight to customers at a difficult time,” he said.
A full launch of the service, which links into HSBC’s existing back-end banking system, is expected in the first half of next year. RBS’s standalone bank Bo is preparing for a public launch by this month from offices in London’s West End.
