HSBC beefs up its product suite to address the education needs of Singaporeans

Anurag Mathur, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, HSBC Bank (Singapore) said:  “Singaporeans place a premium on their children receiving a university education, and they’re prepared to pay for it. We have been building our platforms, solutions and capabilities to help Singapore parents and students fund their future – and more is to come.”

Currently, HSBC Singapore supports parents across their children’s entire education lifecycle including education savings plans; access to overseas banking; access to on-the-ground relationship managers across 66 markets or territories; and the ability to internationally transfer money to children’s domestic and overseas accounts in real-time.

In addition to the recently launched endowment savings plan, Savings Protector, offered by HSBC Insurance (Singapore), which supports the early planning of a university education, HSBC Singapore will soon introduce the following:

• FX App: Enabling parents to actively manage and plan on the go for their mid- to long-term foreign currency and remittance needs.  This is particularly important, especially if their children are considering an overseas education.
• Multicurrency Debit Card: Enabling HSBC customers to transact in nine different currencies without being subject to exchange rate margin. Offering cashless and contactless payments, it is particularly useful to those planning to study overseas.

HSBC global education report validates HSBC Singapore’s education emphasis

HSBC Singapore’s heightened focus on its education proposition is validated by HSBC’s Value of Education research – released today – which looks into the attitudes and behaviours towards education amongst more than 10,500 parents and children globally, including more than 500 Singaporeans.

The key findings from the report are:

• Parents in Singapore contribute on average SGD36,417 (USD26,377) towards their child’s tertiary university education - almost double the global average and behind only Hong Kong and UAE.
• Singapore students spend on average SGD46,425 (USD33,625) over the course of a degree which is SGD10,008 (USD7,248) above what their parents are contributing.
• 47% of Singapore parents (49%-Global) wish they had started saving earlier for their children’s education while one in two parents (46% vs 48%-Global) worry they do not have the financial resources to support them.

Singaporeans more likely than global peers to study abroad

• Singaporeans have the highest proportion (on a per capita basis) of tertiary graduates in the world. Six out of ten Singaporeans between 25 and 29 years old completed tertiary education¹.
• A 2007 study found that 11% of Singaporeans study abroad compared to 2% global average.

Mr Mathur shared further: “Our various reports be it on expats, education or retirement have generated a lot of insights on customers’ needs.  Enabling the team to develop a comprehensive suite of solutions geared at helping Singaporeans build the foundation to future-proof their lives.”

He added: “As more Singaporeans look beyond our shores for education, career or business opportunities, it is critical they partner with a bank that can support them locally as well as overseas.”

Click here for the full Value of Education: The price of success Singapore report.

Note to editors:

About the Value of Education
The Value of Education is an independent consumer research study into global education trends, commissioned by HSBC. It provides authoritative insights into parents’ and students’ attitudes and behaviour towards education around the world. The findings are from the fifth survey in the series which represents the views of 10,478 parents and 1,507 students in 15 countries and territories: Australia, Canada, Mainland China, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States. The research is based on a sample of parents with at least one child aged 23 or younger currently (or soon to be) in education, and on a sample of students aged 18 to 34 in university undergraduate and postgraduate education, drawn from nationally representative online panels in each country and territory.

More information on HSBC Singapore’s capabilities supporting education needs:

• Savings Protector: A 10-year endowment savings plan underwritten by HSBC Insurance (Singapore), Savings Protector is geared at individuals who are looking for higher protection cover.  It offers a minimum of 125% of the guaranteed maturity benefit in the event of death or terminal illness, which ensures customers’ savings goals are not disrupted in the event of unforeseen circumstances.²
• Strategic Partnerships – Parents can leverage HSBC’s partnership with key international schools in Singapore to research and identify the right education programme for their children.  In addition, customers can tap on HSBC’s interest free installment plans to ease the burden of international school fees when they charge these to their HSBC credit cards.
• Premier in One, Premier in All – Premier customers will be accorded the same status in all countries where they bank with HSBC.  Singapore parents who are HSBC Premier customers can remotely open a banking account for their children, even overseas. In addition, they can also tap on HSBC extensive network of in-country relationship managers to remotely support their children’s overseas finance needs.
• Global View and Global Transfers – Parents can monitor and manage their HSBC accounts worldwide including making seamless instant fund transfers and gaining real-time access to their accounts at home or abroad.

About HSBC Insurance Singapore
HSBC Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Limited, which is ultimately owned by HSBC Holdings plc, the London-based holding company of the HSBC Group. HSBC Insurance (Singapore) is a Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Tier-1 insurer, managing total assets of more than SGD8.1 billion with a 277% Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as at 31 December 2017.  It provides a wide range of solutions that cater to retirement, protection, education, legacy planning, and wealth accumulation needs.  It also has a fully digital platform, HSBC Insurance Online, that offers simple and value for money term-based life insurance products online.

About HSBC Singapore
HSBC Group’s history in Singapore dates back to 1877 when its founding member, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, opened its first branch on the island. A qualifying full bank, HSBC in Singapore offers a comprehensive range of banking and financial services including retail banking and wealth management; commercial, investment and private banking; insurance; forfaiting and trustee services; securities and capital markets services. One of the earliest banks to establish in Singapore, HSBC today is a prominent player in Singapore's financial services sector serving the banking needs of multi-national corporations, home-grown businesses, private banking clients, institutional and retail customers. In May 2016, HSBC locally incorporated its retail banking and wealth management business in Singapore and established, HSBC Bank (Singapore) Limited.  Till this day, HSBC's flagship office remains at the original Collyer Quay site where its first branch was set up. HSBC Singapore has a retail network of 11 branches (of which 9 are dedicated HSBC Premier Centre) and many locations across the island providing self-service terminals.

About The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding member of the HSBC Group, which serves our customers through four global businesses: Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Private Banking. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 3,800 offices in 66 countries and territories in Europe, Asia, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2,607bn at 30 June 2018, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.

¹ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-03/singapore-wants-kids-to-skip-college-good-luck-with-that

² This article contains only general information. It does not constitute an offer to buy or sell an insurance product or service. A person interested in this product should read the relevant product summary for details before deciding whether to buy this product. You may wish to seek advice from a financial consultant before making a commitment to purchase this product. In the event that you choose not to seek advice from a financial consultant, you should consider whether this product in question is suitable for you. Buying a life insurance policy is a long term commitment. An early termination of the policy incurs a high cost and the surrender value payable may be less than the total premiums paid.