HSBC is expanding its artificial intelligence capabilities with plans to launch a Global AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore in the second half of 2026, as the bank looks to accelerate the use of AI across wealth management, treasury and payments.
The new centre will focus on three initial areas, improving customer interactions across the wealth journey, developing agentic treasury solutions and supporting AI-enabled digital payments. HSBC said technology developed through the hub will be scaled across its global operations, with governance controls and human oversight maintained throughout deployment.
The move reflects a broader shift among financial institutions as banks invest in artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency, enhance customer experiences and develop new digital financial services. However, adoption across banking continues to require strong controls around data management, risk and accountability.
HSBC’s Singapore hub will bring together specialists across natural language processing, data science, AI governance and human-centred design. The team will work alongside David Rice, HSBC’s chief AI officer, as well as colleagues across wealth management and global payments solutions.
HSBC said it plans to recruit more than 100 AI specialists to work with Chief AI Officer David Rice and teams spanning wealth management and global payments solutions.
The bank also plans to work with educational institutions and government bodies in Singapore to develop AI expertise and build a pipeline of talent across emerging technology disciplines.
HSBC said the centre forms part of its wider technology strategy to embed AI across its operations, providing employees with new tools while supporting the development of more personalised financial products and services.
The bank has identified wealth management, treasury and payments as key areas where AI could support more efficient processes and improved customer engagement. Agentic AI, which enables systems to complete multi-step tasks with limited human intervention, is also gaining attention across financial services as institutions explore new automation capabilities.
HSBC Group CEO Georges Elhedery said, “The new AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore will help drive our global AI vision – to empower our colleagues to use AI to create a personalised experience for each customer, deliver it safely, in real time and at scale, while keeping human judgement, decision-making and accountability at the core.”
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