HSBC marks 25 trailblazing years of credit card operations in Sri Lanka

By Darshana Abayasingha

HSBC celebrates its Silver Jubilee for credit card operations in Sri Lanka this year. HSBC first forayed into Sri Lanka in 1892 to support the growth of trade, and over a century later in 1994 introduced its credit cards to the market revolutionising the use of ‘plastic’ in the island. 

Speaking to the Daily FT, HSBC Sri Lanka Country Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management Nadeesha Senaratne says HSBC took a bold decision to introduce and aggressively promote the new financial tool – credit cards – to Sri Lanka despite these being relatively unknown, with the vision it would become an essential tool in time to come. Sri Lankans are becoming fond of using plastic, which is evidenced by the 23 million debit cards in use in Sri Lanka today, but with a mere 1.7 million credit cards in comparison, Senaratne avers there is still a lot of room for credit cards to grow. Alongside rapid urbanisation and growing per capita income, and as more Sri Lankans travel overseas whilst Fin-Tech companies disrupt markets and aggregate choice on to single platforms, credit cards will be increasingly seen as an essential global tool by more Sri Lankans, Senaratne enthuses.  

“Going back in time to the 1990s, for everyday purchases only cash was accepted as a mode of payment, and this was not the most convenient and secure method of payment. As an international bank, HSBC was fortunate to have not just leveraged our expertise as a global player, but also to envision the future of payments in a market where the category was not well-known. We had to develop the market from ground zero. From setting up a complex operation, which involved payment infrastructure and customer service, plus, ensuring security and peace of mind in this relatively unknown category in Sri Lanka. After 25 years we are privileged to serve over a quarter million Sri Lankans and help them live their dreams and ambitions,” Senaratne avers. 

During its journey, HSBC is proud to have notched up many firsts with credit cards in Sri Lanka, including the largest card payment network with over 1,700 outlets island-wide offering greater convenience to customers, and a unique rewards program with an extensive partner network. HSBC was also the first to introduce zero-percent interest instalment schemes for lifestyle spending, and was also the first credit card in Sri Lanka which was chip-enabled to minimise fraud and generate real-time intelligence. Bio-metric enabled mobile apps was also introduced to the market by HSBC. The bank was able to offer several groundbreaking promotions, which include Cardholder flies free, dines free and stays free in addition to a unique Home & Away privilege program. 

Senaratne says HSBC pays great emphasis to consumer safety, pointing to a number of measures the bank has put in place to combat fraud and safeguard privacy. Once again, he points to a number of firsts by the bank in this sphere. 

“We introduced the first chip-enabled credit cards in Sri Lanka, and are constantly reviewing the ways we protect our customers online, leveraging our global expertise to use sophisticated real-time fraud detection intelligence to keep customers safe. Our proactive approach includes meeting some of the world’s leading security experts to discuss key issues and sponsoring joint initiatives to improve online security. With cardholders venturing into more and more online transactions cyber security is of utmost importance. We need to make it easy for customers to move funds using digital platforms to help them move funds easily and conveniently.”

HSBC credit card holders are also protected by Secure Code by Mastercard and verified by VISA, whilst they also enjoy free overseas travel protection when they purchase return air tickets from Sri Lanka. The bank also offers a Safe Card insurance scheme with global coverage against unauthorised transactions from credit card fraud or loss. 

Commenting on the market, Senaratne avers that despite the presence of over 267,000 FMCG outlets in Sri Lanka, the acceptance of cards is still at a low, with only about 65,000 point-of-sale terminals accepting cards. He feels there is room to improve infrastructure and education of customers, and also onboarding and compliance checks during consumer assessment. He adds there is also need to create greater convenience with payment points for cardholders to settle their monthly payments. 

With respect to future plans, Senaratne remarks there is scope to further enhance the payments landscape in Sri Lanka, borrowing from global best practices and the bank’s experience with over 38 million customers worldwide. With high mobile penetration and the growing use of smartphones, in Sri Lanka HSBC will look to improve its digital footprint to offer further convenience and access to customers while employing data analytics. Senaratne also stresses the need to enhance financial literacy in Sri Lanka, whereby existing and potential credit card users will use their cards prudently and take better advantage of the benefits they offer. 

How will HSBC Sri Lanka celebrate its Silver Jubilee for credit cards in Sri Lanka, we asked Senaratne in conclusion.

“To mark the anniversary celebrations, under the theme ‘Together we celebrate – You are invited’, we have partnered with several leading merchants to offer weekly savings across four shopping categories during the month of October. Customers are entitled to a 25% flat savings on specific themes namely Cyber Weekend, Supermarket Weekend Bash, Culinary Weekend Celebration and the Fashion Weekend Party. In addition, customers can also enjoy 25 months zero-percent instalment plans on high-value goods. We will also reward the spenders every day until 25 October with limited edition HSBC branded 22-karat gold coins to mark this milestone. 

“Perhaps, what will be most rewarding is the 5X5 Cashback fiesta, where cardholders can win cashback rebates worth over Rs. 6 million during the campaign period by simply using cards more than five-times every week. Plus, we have invited all our customers to an epic birthday weekend from 26 to 27 October at the Colombo City Centre, where customers can participate in a weekend of shopping, fun and competitions with great savings mall-wide and stand a chance to win instant prizes,” he says.