55% of active HSBC ‘proposition’ customers transact online
View(s):HSBC, as an international bank that leads the Credit Cards segment locally, has made great strides bucking traditional business models and focusing on innovation. One such area is online banking, which approximately 55 per cent of its active ‘proposition’ customers use today.
Speaking to the Business Times, HSBC Sri Lanka’s Head of Marketing and Group Communications Tharanga Gunasekera explains what this means. “HSBC customers use multiple channels for their banking transactions. The longest running and most used are still branches, as well as even ATMs. When it comes to evolution, we initially had a lot of customers coming into our branches, but today, when you look at customer lifestyles, they don’t really have much time. They are not able to go to the bank during lunchtime like they used to do 20 years ago. But now, with all this technology, they no longer need to come into branches, and that’s why Internet Banking comes into play”.
Commenting on HSBC’s specific experience, he noted, “HSBC has two types of customers, Premier and Advance, in terms of banking relationships, I can safely say that about 55 per cent of the combined, active HSBC Premier and Advance customer base use Internet banking or online transactions… Out of this active base, 72 per cent use our multiple bill payments [for utility bills] function, which customers need to preset first, making it the most popular service”.
In fact, according to Mr. Gunasekera, the three areas that are most important to customers are safety and security, convenience and 24×7 availability. Incidentally, he noted that security was also a key factor in all of the bank’s dealing and highlighted that it was the first to locally introduce dual authorisation methods combining security codes and devices.
Adding to this, he stated: “Online banking is definitely going to be growing. It can only go in one direction as far as we are concerned, because our customers are increasingly becoming online savvy. This is a great place where we can test and acclimatise ourselves with the digital world, since we are still at its inception. As a global bank, we have seen digital penetration outstrip traditional in other markets, and that’s where its’ heading”.
He also revealed that the main online platform for HSBC and its branches was its website, also signalling “we use our website very much to attract customers, if they want to apply for a credit card or open a HSBC Advance or Premier account, there is a ‘functionality’ where they can start the process online. Importantly, we also created a very exclusive acquisition tool for credit cards. In this area, the most important touch-point for potential customers is what the card will look like. Basically, we use search optimisation and search engines and keywords to get them in, then giving them an indication of what card they can apply for. This was a first in Sri Lanka, and I don’t think any other bank is doing that yet”. It also emerged that the bank was one of the first to offer a 30 day service pledge (trial period) whereby if a new customer changes their mind after starting to use their credit card, they could return it. The same applies to lifestyle loans.
Responding to a question from the Business Times regarding how newcomers could venture into Internet or digital marketing, Mr. Gunasekera, a marketing veteran, opined; “You can’t get into digital with a ROI (return on investment) hat only, it’s really about learning about digital and working on your reach”. Highlighting the example of credit cards advertising, he was of the view that traditional advertising could not be ignored, with a current Nielsen survey showing that radio is now being used a lot, over print, but with TV still “king”. However, he also asserted that, for HSBC, mobile marketing was not just another interface, or screen, aligning with the bank’s overall digital strategy. As opposed to print ads, SMSs could be customised to be more relevant and personalised, securing the attention of customers for a few seconds longer. “For us, it is a very potent tool,” reiterated Mr. Gunasekera.