HSBC issues warning as popular service axed after just 12 months
HSBC is shutting down its international payments app Zing just over a year after launching the platform. Zing was launched in January last year as a platform for people to hold digital currencies and send or spend money in the UK and abroad.
The decision to shut the platform, first reported by Financial News, is part of the bank’s “simplification” strategy, it said. “Following a strategic review of Zing within the HSBC Group and after careful consideration, we have made the decision to close Zing and integrate its underlying technology platform into HSBC,” the bank said.
A source close to the company told Reuters the decision could put as many as 400 jobs at risk. HSBC told Sifted it wouldn't comment on the number of employees affected. The move follows a change of CEO in July last year as Georges Elhedery took over from Noel Quinn.
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Zing’s closure is a stark contrast to fortunes at Wise and Revolut. An HSBC spokesperson said: "Following a strategic review of Zing within the HSBC Group and after careful consideration, we have made the decision to close Zing and integrate its underlying technology platform into HSBC."
Zing was intended as a rival to Wise, a fintech set up in 2011. In November last year it had nearly 11.5 million customers, a growth of 25% on the same year previously. It also claimed to have carried out £68.4bn of transactions and held £18.5bn of customers' cash.
Ritesh Jain, a former chief operating officer at HSBC, told the fintech publication Finextra that Zing had copied rivals and did not have a future vision that would make it unique. Ritesh said: "In a market where consumers expect speed, transparency, and low-cost services, merely replicating existing offerings rarely works.
"Zing lacked a clear, innovative edge, and without that, no amount of marketing or expansion plans could help it succeed. Banks need to understand that in fintech, it’s not enough to compete in the present—you need to anticipate where the market is headed."