In a bid to boost financial inclusion in Hong Kong and provide extra support during the pandemic, HSBC is eliminating 26 fees and charges for basic banking services, effective November 1 this year.
The fee eliminations cover a wide range of areas including deposit and withdrawal of foreign currency notes, request for banker’s reports
and documents, passbook replacement, global transfers and remittances.
«Today’s cut is expected to benefit over 4 million personal customers, and reflects our commitment to making sure that everyone has the tools they need to thrive financially,» said Greg Hingston, APAC and Hong Kong head of wealth and personal banking (WPB), in a statement.
Financial Inclusion Drive
HSBC has been active in increasingly breaking down the barriers of access for financial inclusion in Hong Kong.
In addition to the recent fee cuts, the bank last year removed the minimum balance requirements and fees for with lacking balances for personal integrated account customers – a move it claims benefited 3 million customers. It also removed annual and monthly fees alongside counter transaction fees for a range of personal savings accounts.
«HSBC One»
HSBC's financial inclusion drive also covers the digital market and it now plans to launch an integrated account – «HSBC One» – which will provide a suite of services with no minimum balance requirement. The offering will include transaction banking, enhanced digital facilities, travel services and wealth management.
«This is the future of banking: low-cost, high-quality services that are accessible by our customers,» said Brian Hui, HSBC’s Hong Kong head of customer propositions and marketing, WPB.
