HSBC, one of the largest banking and financial services institutions in the world, has announced the shutdown of its international payments platform Zing, one year after launch.
The closure of Zing comes amid strategic business priorities and cost savings efforts by the banking giant, which will see about 400 jobs affected, including a significant number of non-HSBC staff contracted for customer support roles.
Speaking on the shutdown of the payments platform, a spokesperson at Zing said,
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“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. HSBC is focused on increasing leadership and market share in the areas where it has a clear competitive advantage, and where it has the greatest opportunities to grow and support our clients”.
On its website, Zing notified customers that the app is no longer accepting new customers. Existing customers will be able to keep their accounts until April 2, 2025, with all accounts officially closing on May 22, 2025.
Part of the message reads,
“Thank you to all our Zing members for your support, we’ll miss serving you. We will unfortunately be closing the Zing app in the coming months due to changes in strategic business priorities. Our mission has always been to enable Zing members to live their best international lives and we’re proud of all that we have achieved in service of that mission. Zing members have been at the heart of everything we’ve built, giving us your trust, support, and feedback to shape Zing into an award-winning international money app.”
The closure of Zing is coming after it was launched in 2024, to ease cross border payments, competing with giant fintech companies like Wise (formerly TransferWise) and Revolution. Through Zing, HSBC looked to replicate the explosive growth of fintech companies. Zing poached staff from Wise and Revolut, as well as other top fintechs to bolster its early team.
The platform which was developed to enhance HSBC global money offering, enabled customers to hold money in their account in 10 different currencies – GBP, EUR, SGD, USD, CAD, JPY, NZD, HKD, AUD, and AED. Zing was fast-tracked at a sizeable cost to HSBC, as internal document revealed that Zing gained 30,000 customers in the six months after its launch.
According to Financial Times, Zing employees contacted disclosed that the closure is more a result of HSBC’s internal politics and management style than the app’s own performance.
“This isn’t a story about operational failings, it is a story about what happens to so many of these fintechs that are incubated in a big bank,” one former employee said. “They’re not given the chance to live the life that they could live if left unencumbered.”
The closure of Zing highlights the difficulties traditional banks face in developing sustainable fintech ventures. Similar initiatives by other banks, such as NatWest’s digital bank Bó, Santander’s small business bookkeeping app Asto and Barclays’ mobile payments service Pingit, have also been discontinued after brief periods.
This trend underscores the challenges traditional banks encounter when attempting to innovate within the rapidly evolving fintech landscape. Factors such as internal politics, compliance requirements, and competition from more agile fintech startups contribute to the difficulties in creating sustainable fintech solutions.