UnderCurrent was amused today to read the following sentence in an HSBC media release:
“Swift provides customers with one of the shortest online credit card applications in the market with pre-populating fields that reduce the application to 50 fields (compared to an industry average of 72 fields).”
Swift is the new online credit card application system that retail customers can complete in order to process interest-free payments through participating retailers. HSBC is the credit provider for JB Hi-Fi, Bing Lee, Ikea and Betta Stores Retail, amongst others.
Whilst 50 fields is 30 per cent fewer than the “industry average”, it is still an amusingly high amount to boast about in a media release.
Here’s more about the service, via a media release:
For online shoppers looking to take advantage of interest-free promotions, the ability to quickly confirm credit approval online could seal the deal.
With the launch of Swift, HSBC is helping retailers use online sales to their advantage by providing their customers with a quicker, more efficient and private credit application experience.
With the Swift application, customers can finalise an interest-free purchase within minutes by following these steps:
• Go to the retailer website
• Apply online for an interest-free purchase
• Receive a credit decision via electronic ID verification within 60 seconds
• Once approved, customers can purchase the goods in-store by taking the approval voucher and photo ID
• Their interest free purchase will be debited on the first credit card statement after the customer has obtained the goods.
Swift will be rolled out to 400 retail stores by the end of November and HSBC has plans to expand the offering to more retailers in the coming months.