The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute has awarded HSBC UK an ‘Advanced rating’ through its Mental Health Accessible programme for essential services firms.
It is based on a holistic review of how supportive and accessible the bank’s services were for customers with mental health problems.
The rating recognises the practical changes HSBC UK has made to make its services better suited to the needs of customers with mental health problems. Money and Mental Health’s analysis shows that nearly 11m people across the UK are experiencing mental health problems.
These changes include steps by HSBC UK to reduce the frequency of its communications to customers about debts, and to improve digital access to specialist support teams for customers.
HSBC UK’s ‘chat with us’ function in the HSBC app has the ability to identify certain vulnerable situations through the words a customer uses, which can result in tailored support, such as referring customers to digital support from its specialist teams.
The bank also utilises AI to help specialist staff deepen skills to support customers in financial difficulty. The practice interactions can be AI guided, semi-guided or not guided, and the tool is significantly improving colleague confidence in supporting vulnerable customers in real life situations.
The ‘Advanced’ rating is the second of three levels firms can achieve through the Mental Health Accessible programme (the bank reached the first level in September 2023).
Nationwide became the first building society to receive the ‘Advanced’ rating earlier this year.
Helen Undy, chief executive of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, said: “We’re delighted that HSBC UK has been awarded the ‘Advanced’ Mental Health Accessible rating after working to further improve the experiences of customers with mental health problems when engaging with its products and services.
“In particular, we’re pleased to see the bank testing new approaches to debt communications which have the potential to decrease stress for customers and deliver financial returns for the bank - banks, building societies and utility firms should take note.
“We’d like to help other banks and utility companies to improve their services and to reduce the many barriers faced by people with mental health problems in accessing and using products.”
Faye Byrne, head of supported banking at HSBC UK, commented: “Achieving the ‘Advanced’ Mental Health Accessible rating is an important recognition of the steps we’ve taken to make retail banking more inclusive for customers facing financial difficulty or mental health challenges.
“From improving digital access to specialist teams, to testing new approaches in how we communicate about debt, our focus is on removing barriers that can add stress at difficult times.
“Working with Money and Mental Health has helped us identify where changes matter most, and we will continue building on this progress to better support customers who need it. If you’re a customer and are worried about your finances, please reach out to us. We stand ready to help.”
