HSBC Debuts Open Payments Platform For eCommerce As Alternative To Debit, Credit

HSBC has launched its new HSBC Open Payments solution, which will enable companies to install alternatives to debit or credit for customers to pay for things, according to an emailed press release.

The HSBC Open Payments application will let businesses connect their checkout pages with the customers’ online apps or app-based mobile platform. Then the purchaser is given a request for pre-populated payments, and upon authorization, an “instant and irrevocable credit” is applied to the seller’s account.

The faster payment receipt is meant to help clients get better working capital, the press release said. In addition, the risk of fraud is less, as is the cost of collecting payments.

The benefit to buyers comes by way of the smoother buying experience and the more secure method of payment, in which the user doesn’t have to provide their bank account details to pay, the press release says.

Tom Wood, Head of Global Liquidity and Cash Management, HSBC UK, said the new service “demonstrates HSBC’s commitment to providing clients with the best digital solutions.”

“Not only is it innovative in how it works but it provides clients with an instant snapshot of their cashflow, meaning they don’t need to wait around for money to clear from acquirers or wallet services,” he said in the Nov. 25 statement.

The service will be launched only in the U.K. initially, the release says.

HSBC also just recently introduced a new global payments tool, which PYMNTS reports will let international customers transfer funds through a single account anywhere in the world. Matthias Dekan, head of HSBC Global Money, said the rise in mobile banking because of the pandemic — around 150 percent higher than it was before — had made it necessary for people to be able to manage money easily while doing other things.

The idea of having just one account is to make sure customers don’t have to switch accounts when moving to different markets.