HSBC Sri Lanka named International Retail Bank of the Year for fourth time

Wednesday, 12 August 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

HSBC has been named the International Retail Bank of the Year in the Asian Banking & Finance Retail Banking Awards 2020. This is the fourth time HSBC Sri Lanka has won the award since 2016.

In the 15th year of awards, over a hundred exceptional banks from 30 countries were recognised for providing the best service to clients and being able to navigate these changing times.

As the largest foreign bank operating for 128 years in Sri Lanka, HSBC Sri Lanka is committed to continue its position as the pioneer financial institution in the country. This was reaffirmed with Asian Banking and Finance citing this year’s recognition for the bank’s outstanding ingenuity in providing ease of services to serve the needs of thousands of Sri Lankan international students, as well as offering market-leading and innovative banking services.

Commenting on the award win, HSBC Country Head of Wealth & Personal Banking in Sri Lanka Nadeesha Senaratne said: “It is heartening to be recognised for the efforts and hard work of our Wealth and Personal Banking team who strive to stay connected to our customers. Even though the consumer landscape has changed over the years, our desire is to look after our customers and we continue to stay current and focused on customer needs, and will continue to help customers navigate these difficult times.”

After learning that over 20,000 Sri Lankans study overseas at any given time, the bank launched the country’s first fully-integrated International Student Proposition.

This provided support to students by enabling pre-departure account opening and international banking services. Students can immediately move funds across the globe free of charge through the Global View/Global Transfer and Global Transfer Friends and Family service.

Further, ‘Premier Next GEN’ was launched for HSBC Premier customers’ children, aged 18-28 years, who are recognised as Global Premier customers under the premiership of their parents and enjoy similar global privileges.

Building on the earlier ‘Cashback’ card released in 2018, the bank unveiled the ‘Rewards Credit Card’ service last year, offering customers up to 5x rewards on everyday spend categories, and enabling them to redeem rewards instantly from over 40 partner establishments around the country across 1,000 reward hotspots.

As a result, the bank recorded a 50% YoY growth of new card acquisitions in 2019 compared to the year before.

HSBC Sri Lanka also refined its online banking experience by expanding the services offered to include multiple device optimisation. This gave customers the convenience of banking from home 24/7 to move and transfer money and pay bills.