HSBC Bangladesh rolls out digital payments solution for apparel sector

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and Babylon Group have signed an agreement recently to migrate the apparel manufacturer's payments onto the bank's online banking platform.

HSBCnet will enable the local corporate to make all kinds of local payments - like salary, wages, and vendor payments - remotely and without any manual intervention, according to a media release received Tuesday.

HSBCnet is an innovative online banking platform and offers a fast, simple and secure way to run one's business.

The solution eliminates the paper-based instructions typically required to process local payments, allowing clients to authorise transactions seamlessly - including via mobile application.

With robust security and audit trail features, HSBCnet effectively supports clients to achieve faster banking turnaround times, reduced costs and greater transparency across the payments cycle, the release says.

Commenting on the solution, Kevin Green, Head of Wholesale Banking, HSBC Bangladesh said, "Our vision is to enable simple, fast and secure payments for our customers through our technology propositions. Digitisation and the fast adoption of technologies continue to be critical for sectors that are vital, such as garments, the largest sector in Bangladesh. HSBC is developing and deploying some of the industry's most advanced and innovative technology to make banking easier and more secure for our customers. We are committed to being a key part of our clients' digital transformation as their chosen transaction banking partner."

HSBC has also extended remote printing facilities to Babylon Group.

This will allow the Group to print cheques from several office locations across Dhaka, Savar and Chattogram through a centrally managed Cheque Outsourcing Services.

Under the solution, Babylon Group can issue checks from wherever is most convenient, enabling same-day handover, without unnecessary physical movement and couriers. In contrast, the same payments processes used to take up to 3 - 4 days, the release adds.

Abdus Salam Sikder, Director of Babylon Group commented, "The arrangement has brought significant improvement in our payment management and helped in sending worker payments to Mobile Financial Services (MFS) accounts on the same date of processing. HSBC's cheque outsourcing services are also helping us a lot for making supplier payments from different locations in seamless manner that improved turnaround time during the pandemic."