Convergence in mobile banking, consolidation on the horizon and do the major banks have competitive advantage over startups given they still have branches?
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/2fb74906-23b7-11e8-add1-0e8958b189ea
Tried to open the article but didn’t have a subscription to the Financial Times 
(reminder to self: need to get one of those!) Super interested to see what they come up with though! What are your thoughts @Theodore? (As a Monzo employee I think it’s best I keep mum on mine…)
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Here is the direct link to FT Article
https://www.ft.com/content/2fb74906-23b7-11e8-add1-0e8958b189ea
Aha I added the screenshots in anticipation that many are unlikely to have subscriptions.
My thoughts are that as “legacy banks” continue to improve their mobile offerings in light of competition and branch closures over time, there will be erosion in the first mover advantage that Monzo, Starling, Revolut etc have in the modern mobile banking space. Naturally, the major banks already have a huge latent customer base/brand recognition and this is upcoming launch is a sign they’re responding to disruption.
So long as Monzo et al continue to innovate with the Marketplace and add new in demand features such as Android/Apple Pay then they can continue to remain at a technological frontier. However, I do see consolidation or collaboration as inevitable. Otherwise, there may only be a niche market available to current startups much like the overplayed disruption of P2P lenders.
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I did attempt to link the original article as reference. Nothing untoward here
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If you try to go direct to the article you need a subscription.
Intsead search google using “HSBC hopes to launch ‘open banking’ app within months” as the term. The FT article is the first result. Click on it and you can read it.
iOS App Link: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/connected-money-from-hsbc/id1183884067?mt=8
Currently very similar to Emma or any other aggregator! Now let’s see if you still need a HSBC account after a CASS switch…
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So essentially it appears to be launched already in beta by the looks of it:
Doesn’t the whole “connectedness” all accounts in one place negate the need to switch current accounts though?
Also, @brenda is this app compatible with Monzo i.e. would a HSBC user be able to link their Monzo current account to this app?
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I heard it is expected to be out of Beta on 16/04/2018
If anything like their new, revamped website a few years ago I suspect it to be a disappointment. Also they may have a huge customer base but how many of them are suddenly going to start using banking on a mobile? (I know some do of course)
Guess time will tell.
Some screenshots here:
Be interesting to see what they do with this. Shame about the initial 2 hour update constraint.
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just waiting for some community user to say “damn, how will I view my 22nd account” 
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A shame that it’s only open to HSBC current account customers (at the moment). Maybe they’ll allow their credit card customers to opt in at a later date.
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Interesting. Well I’d be certain that the younger demographics would use it. As with all the major banks, they acquire longlasting customers with their student accounts. Young adults and students of today and tomorrow utilise digital services more than physical branches. I personally think it’s a great idea to see all accounts in one place I use both my RBS and Monzo apps in conjunction with each other as compliments rather than competitors.
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If it’s only open to current account customers, then people like me with a Basic bank account will probably never be able to access it.
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Can you @drthanwho aborate on the distinction between a HSBC current account versus its “basic account”? I imagine current account are the standard accounts for major banks’ customers.
Basic account is for non-residents and newcomers, main difference to the standard account being it allows 0 credit (no overdraft, no contactless, etc)
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What does everyone think of this new app?!
Looks like just another aggregator
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It does look quite nice but the way it displays a number of my accounts is not correct, I have raised this to them though and they were interested in how they could resolve it.
The updates seem to take an awfully long time though so it’s not very ‘instant’ as I’ve come to expect. HSBC doesn’t provide access to pending debit or credit card transactions so it’s a little annoying in that aspect too.
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