Every Wednesday, we delve into the latest fintech updates from across the UK. This week brings updates from HSBC, Vestd, Shepherds Friendly and Wiley Edge.
HSBC begins accepting international credit history
HSBC UK has partnered with cross-border credit bureau Nova Credit to become the first UK bank to offer newcomers the option to include international credit history when applying for a credit card.
New and existing customers applying for an HSBC UK credit card online can choose to share their credit history from 12 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, and the US.
Madhu Kejriwal, head of unsecured lending at HSBC UK, said: “Newcomers are vital to the growth of our economy, with the flow of ideas and experiences enriching the lives of people across the UK and around the world.
“But newcomers can face real and unique hurdles when settling into their new lives in the UK – from struggling to set up essential services due to lack of local credit history to juggling finances between locations and understanding tax considerations.”
Banking employees are the happiest in the UK
Employees working in banking have the highest levels of job satisfaction, according to new research, with 75 per cent of staff prepared to recommend their company to a friend.
The research comes from equity management platform Vestd, which compared businesses across a range of sectors, looking at CEO approval ratings and ‘recommend to a friend‘ scores on Glassdoor, as well as average employee tenure according to LinkedIn.
Ifty Nasir, CEO of Vestd, said: “Feeling happy in your job is a massive part of your general wellbeing and employers are increasingly aware of the importance of staff satisfaction, but happiness should be just the start.
“Taking employee happiness to the next level and generating employee engagement, where staff are highly motivated and genuinely invested in their company’s success, can have a huge impact on the bottom line. Engaged staff are significantly more likely to be more productive and contribute to a positive workplace culture – key ingredients for any growing company.”
UK struggles with savings during cost of living crisis
During UK Savings Week, which runs from Monday 18 to Sunday 24 October, ISAs, investment and insurance firm Shepherds Friendly reveals that 13 per cent of Brits have absolutely no savings at all.
Meanwhile, the average Brit has just over £20,612 in their savings – but consider £27,822 to be the ideal amount to have saved up in order to feel financially secure. Overall, Brits are dipping more into their savings for essential items during the cost of living crisis (£216 compared to £182 previously), but are taking out less for non-essentials (£187 compared to £219 previously).
Derence Lee, chief financial officer at Shepherds Friendly, explained: “Saving money can be a challenge for many of us, even more so in the context of the current financial climate. Our research shows that whilst Brits are attempting to be more cautious with their spending by cutting down in certain areas, many are still dipping into their savings each month to keep up with increasing costs.”
Gen Z reveal challenges of working in tech
Emerging talent and reskill training provider, Wiley Edge, has launched its Diversity in Tech 2023 report, revealing that 62 per cent of Gen Z tech workers found it more challenging than expected to land their first role.
Meanwhile, 39 per cent of all Gen Z tech workers surveyed claimed the industry has a reputation for being male-dominated. Despite this, 77 per cent of Gen Z tech employees remain satisfied with their company’s pay transparency.
Wiley Edge also found that a significant majority of businesses provide upskilling and reskilling programmes. In fact, 48 per cent offer one or the other to existing tech employees and 49 per cent to all employees, regardless of their current roles. Only three per cent have either never offered such programmes or have since abandoned them.