Visa has revealed its instrumental role in the development of HSBC’s money transfer app Zing, with key contributions from its subsidiaries Tink and Currencycloud. Launched in the UK in January, Zing positions itself as a direct competitor to money transfer fintech Wise, enabling users to hold funds in over ten different currencies, send money in more than thirty currencies, and transact in over two hundred countries and territories, all through a single app and smart multi-currency card.
James Allan, CEO and founder of Zing, highlighted the app’s innovative nature, stating, “Zing shows how outdated the ‘legacy financial services versus fintechs’ narrative really is. The reality is that you don’t have to choose; Zing is as intuitive, quick, and transparent as anything to come out of the fintech boom – but with the benefits of 150 years of international finance experience as part of the HSBC Group.” Allan also emphasized the shared vision with Visa to provide secure, user-friendly financial products globally, adding, “Zing delivers on that promise, and we look forward to building on this partnership in the future.”
The collaboration with Visa provided Zing with a single point of contact for the entire project, which included the delivery of a multi-currency wallet through Currencycloud technology and multiple account top-up methods via Tink’s open banking solutions.
Zing offers UK consumers a range of digital services, including low-cost and transparent currency exchange, financial management, instant collections, real-time exchange rates, and person-to-person payments, all linked to a Visa card. Serge Elkiner, global head of product for money movement solutions at Visa, remarked that Currencycloud and Tink’s ready-made solutions enabled rapid market entry for Zing, saving development time and costs associated with building and maintaining proprietary systems.
Elkiner stated, “In today’s connected world, consumers should be able to move money as simply and routinely as sending a text message. Yet, in many cases, consumers still rely on manual, paper-based processes, high fees, and cash to send and receive money across borders. Our partners and customers, and more importantly, their customers, want simplicity. By combining the benefits of Tink and Currencycloud with the wider Visa solutions and brand, we have delivered a great solution in double-quick time.”
As part of the ongoing partnership, Visa has signed a new global agreement with HSBC to roll out additional features, currencies, and expansion to more international markets.
