HSBC Adds Investing Feature for UK Customers

British bank HSBC on Wednesday (Dec. 1) added a function to its mobile app that will let people invest in a suite of funds for a minimum of 50 pounds ($66.62) in a move that’s aimed at younger people across the U.K. and pits HSBC against other FinTech platforms that offer wealth management, a CNBC report says. 

The new service will be available on iOS and Android in the next several weeks. 

“Around 389,000 of our customers aged under 35 have sufficient assets to invest but are currently not doing so,” James Hewitson, head of wealth management at HSBC U.K., said in the company statement. “On top of that, 64% of HSBC customers are digitally active.” 

HSBC, which has an online investment advice service in the U.K., is jumping into app-based wealth management is an effort to stem the momentum of Revolut and Freetrade, among others, companies that offer low-cost trading and an easy-to-use application to appeal to younger investors. 

See more: HSBC Will Roll Out BaaS Platform 

In October, HSBC debuted a Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform that will “enable customers to create and provide business banking services through their own platforms” through cloud ERP system Oracle NetSuite. 

The solution embeds international payments and expense management services into NetSuite’s SuiteBanking solution to allow NetSuite customers to automate accounts payable, accounts receivable and reconciliation processes. 

That will streamline bill payment, sending invoices, getting paid and seeing your full cash flow picture in one place. 

HSBC will also integrate BaaS into HSBC Global Wallet, its multi-currency digital wallet for making and receiving international payments. 

Also read: HSBC on Authenticating Customer Payments to Reduce Fraud 

Almost three out of every four banks, businesses and payments providers were victims of some sort of fraud last year, most often through checks and wire transfers, but now through digital payments.

Payment fraud losses are expected to total $206 billion over the next four years, and companies are expected to spend $11.8 billion annually on fraud prevention by 2025. Phishing is the primary threat in the payments space, Drew Douglas, North American regional head of Liquidity and Cash Management at HSBC, told PYMNTS.