HSBC explores tap-and-go mobile payments

Following the launch of iPhone payment service last October, HSBC has rolled out a mobile application for iOS and Android-powered devices, with an Android payment system by the end of this year.The app allows customers look at their account balances, monitor and set foreign exchange rates, receive alerts when the rates hit their target and apply for credit cards and other loans.Aside from a transaction limit of $500, details on the upcoming Android app have yet to be released.But the bank already knows how to entice its audience via a minute-long TVC where city-goers are using the new app in different situations –jogging, cradling their children, brushing their teeth – all the while singing to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. The TVC is set to debut today.This new focus on NFC mobile payments, however, comes at no surprise. According to Ipsos’s 2012 Hong Kong Credit Card Monitor research, Hong Kong’s contactless card holders increased from 17% in 2011 to 31% of all cardholders in 2012.“These new digital capabilities demonstrate our commitment to deliver a simple, convenient and secure banking experience however customers choose to connect with HSBC,” said Diana Cesar, head of retail banking and wealth management of HSBC Hong Kong.“Our priority is to build long-term and sustainable relationships by offering our customers needs-driven financial solutions whether through our branches, contact centres, self-service terminals or digital channels.” Of all the big banks, Heng Seng's app offers personal and business e-banking services, a banking centres locator, travel insurance and personal loans; though market info and Forex Margin Trading offerings are only available on iOS.BEA’s app has a similar platform and also shows location-sensitive dining, concert and shopping deals associated with the bank’s credit card as well as MPF-related funds and property loans. The latter two, however, are also only available on iOS.Standard Chartered, on the other hand, can only locate ATM branches.