HSBC has been named the best bank for digital innovation in Asia-Pacific in The Banker magazine’s Innovation in Digital Banking Awards 2020.

The judges said: “HSBC beat several innovative regional peers to scoop the Innovation in Digital Banking accolade for Asia-Pacific due to its mobile-first digital strategy, single technology platform and global code approach.”

By using common code across the bank’s network, HSBC drastically reduces the time it takes to launch or upgrade online and mobile applications. Testing features in local markets provides valuable customer insight that is used to improve technology before it is deployed across other markets.

In 2019 and early 2020 six new mobile banking apps were introduced in Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam through an accelerated scaled delivery programme that is helping to transform the bank globally.

Judges said that HSBC’s overarching vision for digital banking allowed it to respond quickly during the COVID-19 crisis.

In the early stages of the epidemic in mainland China, HSBC was the first foreign bank to launch ‘smart mobile onboarding’ for customers opening main current accounts. This has minimised the need for customers to visit branches: they can apply online to open a current account in just 10 minutes and get approval within 60 seconds. The time it takes customers to apply for a credit card in the Asia-Pacific region has also dropped from 10 to two days on average through digitisation.

Kevin Martin, Wealth and Personal Banking Global Chief Operating Officer and Head of Digital Transformation, said: “We have proven that we have the capabilities to lead in digital, setting new standards for the benefit of our customers, but I also firmly believe that the opportunity ahead of us is even greater than the one behind.”