HSBC introduces new Embedded Finance venture

Initially, the jointly-owned venture focuses on offering its solutions in the UK, allowing small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) suppliers on ecommerce venues to access digital invoice financing from the bank while benefiting from an improved experience. In addition, SemFi plans to provide SMEs with increased flexibility and security in their spend management processes via HSBC virtual card solutions.

When commenting on the announcement, representatives from HSBC underlined that businesses are currently working on including augmented financial solutions into their offerings that are also embedded within their ecommerce journeys. With the new service, the bank aims to provide such integrated capabilities to support businesses in expanding their operations. Also, SemFi by HSBC seeks to deliver a startup technology overview paired with the global scale and knowledge of an international financial institution.

Furthermore, the launch comes as HSBC works towards building its capabilities and presence in Embedded Finance, with the bank intending to meet the demands, preferences, and needs of business customers currently lacking connected financial journeys to ecommerce venues. As per the information detailed in the press release, SemFi aims to be a technology company, not operating as a banking entity, with clients being onboarded by HBSC and the bank’s balance sheet being set to be utilised for financing.

The launch of SemFi follows HSBC’s rollout of its financing plan worth USD 641 million intended to support SMEs in Hong Kong. The initiative was designed to simplify the loan application process for eligible SMEs by offering pre-approved credit limits. HSBC was set to utilise internal data to evaluate the creditworthiness of applicants, enabling faster approval decisions.