HSBC to launch rival to Transferwise
HSBC is launching its Global Money Account, a free mobile-based, real-time service that customers can use to hold, manage and send funds in various currencies to HSBC customers in over 20 markets without incurring any fees.
Global Money Account is launching in the U.S. first, and will be rolled out to other markets in 2021, according to a report in Finextra. Customers can get instant access in a few clicks via their existing banking app.
The launch of the service marks a growing trend by banks to gain back business lost to fintechs like Transferwise and Revolut, which offer similar accounts to consumers.
"The ambition for Global Money is to provide our customers with one global account for all of their financial needs so that if they move from one market to another, they don't need to open a new account, they just take their existing account with them," Carolyn Criscitiello, head of digital payments wealth and personal banking, HSBC USA, said in the report. "This will allow them to pay bills in multiple markets, make cross border transfers and spend like a local wherever they are."
Criscitiello said the bank intends to ultimately extend the payment service to allow instant international transfers to customers with other banks.