HSBC is set to debut an international payments app called Zing. The app is aimed at challenging the dominance of fintechs such as Revolut and Wise. These app have gathered tens of millions of retail customers by offering cheap foreign exchange, with HSBC looking to get in on the action.

Zing will initially be offered in the UK, but there are plans to roll out the service in other places in the coming months as it looks to grab a share of the fast-growing market servicing affluent consumers. The app will be available on Appstore and Google Play within days and will be open to non-HSBC customers. The app takes around three minutes to sign up.

Zing to challenge worldwide payments market

Nuno Matos, chief executive officer of the lender’s global wealth and personal banking business, said that the bank prepares to “attack” the worldwide retail payments market.

Matos added: “Zing has a global ambition. We want to establish ourselves as a global platform for international payments, which ties perfectly with our international payments strategy for HSBC and you should see us very soon in Asia, in the Middle East and in EU markets.

“It’s a bold move for us. This is HSBC playing outside of its traditional perimeter of customers, and really attacking, if you want, of taking advantage of a contingent, which is big, is growing, looks like us, and it’s here for us.”

The move shows how some global financial companies are seeking to compete against a number of startups that have rapidly expanded over the past decade. In doing so it will offer services ranging from cross-border payments to savings accounts and investing products on mobile devices.

HSBC already has a product called Global Money that offers existing customers fee-free, currency service. Since its debut in 2020, the service has attracted hundreds of thousands of customers and processed transactions worth about $11bn in 2022.