HSBC will now allow its customers to choose from a variety of different titles as well committing to training its branch staff to understand issues surrounding the trans experience.
From Friday 31st, trans customers of HSBC will be able to choose from 10 gender titles including, Mx, Ind, M, Mre, Msr, Myr, Pr, Sai, Ser and Misc instead of the binary Mr or Ms. The bank has also pledged to train all its branch and contact centre staff to be more trans-inclusive and aware.
The decision to offer customers a wider range of options coincides with International Transgender Day of Visibility.
HSBC UK has also introduced a process which makes it simpler for customers who are transitioning to change their gender on their bank account. Customers simply need to bring a passport, driving licence or birth certificate that supports the change of gender to update their details in a branch. This has been supported by training for all branch and contact centre staff that aims at helping HSBC UK employees understand the issues experienced by transgender customers.
This has been supported by training for all branch and contact centre staff that aims at helping HSBC UK employees understand the issues experienced by transgender customers.
The changes were developed in tandem with HSBC Pride, the bank’s LGBT+ employee network, which played a key advisory role in ensuring the new services reflect the financial needs of the trans community.
Stuart Barette, Senior Project Manager and Trans Lead of HSBC UK Pride Network said,
“On the day that I went into the branch to change my name and my gender I was terrified, to be honest. Coming out to anyone is difficult, as you don’t know people are going to react. That’s why the changes we’ve been making are so important so that our trans customers can feel confident that they’re going to have a good experience and be speaking with someone who has been trained to better understand them.”
Stuart Haire, HSBC’s Head of Retail, UK commented,
“The changes announced today are part of a broader priority for us to ensure our products and services are relevant for the unique financial needs of all of our customers. We want everyone to be able to access simple and smart banking solutions that work for them, and we will continue working with our LGBT+ colleagues and customers to ensure we’re getting it right.”
