HSBC Bank has tied up with SAP in Asia to enhance the financial institution's bank-corporate client integration system targeted for use globally.
The improved system also has the potential to enable the exchange of richer information between HSBC and its business customers, according to the bank.
HSBC currently offers a service that provides corporate clients access to an automated host-to-host system to facilitate secure transactions. Called HSBC Connect, the service enables the back-end systems of the bank and its enterprise customers to communicate seamlessly and securely.
Marcus Treacher, HSBC's head of e-commerce global transaction banking, explained: "It's a kind of a file connection. When the file gets to HSBC, we can weave that information into the relevant in-country system to pay to the clearinghouse there, and we can draw information [through analyzing the transaction] and provide the data to the client."
In an interview with ZDNet Asia, Treacher described the current process of transmitting information and having the corporate customer load the data into its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or vice versa, as a "semi-automated effort".
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| I like the idea that Asia is leading a potentially innovative program that we can take globally… We're taking these features and functions that we've built in Asia through to Europe and the United States through the HSBC network. | ||
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To facilitate information exchange with any bank, a corporate client has to create a file for the bank to process. "Because they're producing files, before a new customer comes on board, there must be discussions on formats and standards. That can take time," Treacher said.
To overcome this, SAP's Corporate Connectivity services--once implemented--will provide HSBC and its Connect customers with a standard interface for their respective back-end systems.
SAP's NetWeaver, an application platform designed to integrate information and business processes across organizational and technological boundaries, will also be deployed. NetWeaver's hosted portion will reside within HSBC and a client software will be provided to the bank's customers.
Murray Sargant, senior vice president of Asia-Pacific Japan banking at SAP Hong Kong, told ZDNet Asia in the interview, that PCs preloaded with the relevant features will be deployed at the clients' offices to allow these customers to "click into HSBC's network and transact".
Pilot in early-2009
A proof of concept has been done and the two partners are satisfied with its results.
Treacher said: "We know the technology works. Now, we're in the process of providing commercially viable propositions. We're looking to going into pilot in early 2009. We expect it to go global in the first-half of 2009.
"Asia is taking the lead in [this initiative which will] be used globally", he said.
"We will be focusing on Singapore as the location in which to drive this proposition, mainly because of the industry's focus here on shared-service centers and around the use of ERP systems," said Treacher.
Sargant added: "I like the idea that Asia is leading a potentially innovative program that we can take globally. It's a nice reverse of what we've seen historically. It is exciting… We're taking these features and functions that we've built in Asia through to Europe and the United States, through the HSBC network."
Headquartered in London, HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world. Its international network comprises around 9,500 offices in 85 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa.
Sargant also noted the speed at which the service could be provided to a customer. He said, typically, it would require many months for a bank to customize connections for each customer and get the application up and running.
"We're now potentially able to deliver this to many corporates in a matter of weeks," he said. "As they sign up, we can basically switch these machines on and transact from the bank's systems directly into customers' ERP platform."
For customers that are not using SAP's ERP software, Sargent said: "We have a product called BankConnect, which runs on the NetWeaver system to connect to Oracle, JD Edwards and PeopleSoft systems."
He added that the new deployment will give the bank the opportunity to develop more innovative products. "Corporations have a lot of contextual information. Now we want to provide a much richer gateway, and a much more contextually interesting way for the bank to work with these corporates."
Treacher explained: "The ERP systems that the corporates use are very rich in information, and they do lots of reconciliation analyses--all of which have a financial bent to some degree. So we can put that together in a richer way, than just getting payments and providing balances. We'll add great value."
