Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
HSBC has announced that it has rolled out a new feature in its retail mobile banking app that shows customers how much they could have left in their account until payday once their scheduled bills have been taken into account.
Balance After Bills is the first feature to make its way into the into the bank’s highly-rated main mobile banking app for iOS users from its popular, standalone banking app, Connected Money, following an announcement earlier this year that it would begin integrating key features this autumn. Additional tools are expected to land within the main banking app in the first quarter of next year.
Stuart Haire, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management for HSBC UK said “Budgeting from one payday to the next can be difficult, especially when bill payments are taken out of your accounts at different points throughout the month,”
“We’ve designed Balance After Bills to help customers better understand where their money is going and when, which in-turn can help them
better manage their finances.”
Other recently debuted in-app features include giving customers the ability to temporarily block and unblock debit and credit cards, deposit cheques as well as add their card to their Apple Wallet all from within app.
Haire said “With more than 90% of retail banking transactions happening via digital channels, enhancing mobile banking services forms an important part of a wider strategy to help improve the financial wellbeing of our customers.”
HSBC UK has a dedicated financial wellbeing team delivering free financial education seminars in schools, universities and workplaces across the country.3 This year the programme has reached 26,000 people in 925 sessions.
The bank is also making industry-leading efforts to better support potentially vulnerable customers. This week HSBC UK began rolling out a self-restriction option on gambling transactions that can only be reversed after a 24-hour cooling off period. Developed in partnership with gambling support charities GamCare and GambleAware, the option to block certain card transactions creates ‘positive friction’ by giving customers time to consider their decision to gamble.