Smile and an HSBC account smiles with you
Unselfish with selfie innovation
HSBC business customers can now open accounts using “selfie” verification, giving them the option to complete ID security checks on their mobile device.
It says ID verification can be completed in a “few clicks” on an Apple or Android device. Once the initial headshot or selfie of a customer is captured, it is then assessed against an ID document uploaded by the customer, such as a driving licence or passport. HSBC says the facial tracking application is capable of recognising and verifying documents from up to 150 countries.
HSBC’s head of global propositions for commercial banking, Richard Davies, says it expects the “convenience and speed of a ‘selfie’ to become the verification method of choice for our customers, who no longer need to visit a branch to complete the process”.
The bank says it is reacting to “changing banking behaviours of customers, specifically their preference to use digital and online channels”.
It says this behaviour has become “increasingly prominent” in the way customers choose to open an account. HSBC says almost half of all its new business current accounts are now opened online, compared to just 10% in 2013.
In addition to selfie verification, HSBC also has the “only” digital platform that enables business customers to complete entire lending applications “exclusively online”. The LinkScreen service was launched for UK commercial banking customers in late 2015, and “has since cut business application and approval times in half”.
