HSBC to give thousands of staff fintech training

Thousands of HSBC employees are being offered training to help them understand emerging financial technology (fintech).

Traditional banks are being forced to change their internal cultures to ensure they keep pace with customer demand for fintech-based products and services, as well as how the technology is used internally to improve efficiency and effectiveness. To this end, staff must understand where fintech fits into the business.

The bank wants to train staff outside of its digital and technology-based jobs, through a course developed with the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.

Steve Suarez, global head of innovation at HSBC, said the pace of growth of technologies such as crypto currency and blockchain means staff outside tech departments need training to keep pace with developments.

HSBC’s Fintech 101 education programme will provide foundation training on fintech technologies and how to use them. “The pace of change being driven by technology in the financial services industry is rapid, so we want a broad cross section of employees, beyond our specific digital teams, to have a strong level of fintech understanding,” he said.

FinTech 101 focuses on digital disruption and platforms, as well as artificial intelligence and open banking.

Rita Martins, head of fintech partnerships at HSBC, said: “A strong relationship between HSBC and fintech companies helps us to provide more forward-looking solutions to our customers. The [training course] is a key element of the training we offer to enable employees right across the bank to gain deeper knowledge of the fintech economy, so that they can identify and develop new opportunities.”

“We are seeing increasing demand for training in this space, as businesses work to keep up with the fast-changing world of financial technology,” said Eleanor Murray, associate dean for executive education at Saïd Business School. “Our Fintech 101 will help give HSBC staff the knowledge to leverage technology and develop new digital products and services for their customers.”

The fintech industry is rapidly growing, and major banks such as HSBC and its staff need to understand where it fits in their businesses. Investment in UK fintech was seven times higher in 2021 than in the previous year, boosted by a record number of deals.

According to KPMG’s latest report, UK fintech investment increased from $5.2bn in 2020 to a “staggering” $37.3bn (£27.5bn) last year.