Putting the Tech in Fintech: The Importance of Partnerships

Google Cloud

By partnering with Google, HSBC is deploying advanced AI tools to scale hyper-personalised wealth management and streamline frontline operations

HSBC is in a multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud to embed AI deeply into its global operations, targeting more than 200 new AI use cases within the next two years. 

Backed by engineering teams from Google Cloud and Google DeepMind, the bank will gain access to Gemini models and the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform to optimise processes and unlock an estimated US$100m through direct revenue uplift and efficiency gains.

Their collaboration prioritises three core areas: personalised wealth management, employee-facing AI assistants to cut administrative tasks from hours to minutes and financial crime risk management.

By pairing gen AI with agentic AI, HSBC expects to intervene twice as quickly across the nearly one billion transactions it monitors monthly.

“Our partnership with HSBC is a blueprint for the future of the financial services industry,” says Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud.

Georges Elhedery, Group CEO at HSBC, adds: “AI is becoming one of the defining technologies of our time, allowing us to create a personalised experience for each customer, delivered in real time and at scale, while keeping human judgement, decision-making and accountability at the core.”

Microsoft

Microsoft supercharges its EMEA payments infrastructure by tapping Checkout.com’s cloud-native platform to optimise revenue across Xbox, Azure and 365

Microsoft is partnering with Checkout.com to power digital payments across its key EMEA markets. The cloud-native payments platform will integrate directly with Microsoft’s Payments API to standardise transaction experiences across major products, including Xbox, Microsoft 365 and Azure.

To optimise processing efficiency, Microsoft will leverage Checkout.com’s regional acquiring capabilities and its AI-driven Intelligent Acceptance engine. This proprietary technology uses real-time network data to dynamically route payments, reduce card declines and improve authorisation rates. 

The phased rollout aligns with a broader industry shift where technology leaders treat payments as a strategic driver of operational resilience and growth rather than a back-end function. 

Pankaj Gudimella, General Manager at Microsoft Treasury, says: “As a global business, we need payments partners that can support our business lines with a unified, high-performance way to accept payments worldwide. Checkout.com brings a modern payments platform, along with strong payments expertise and robust global acquiring capabilities.” 

The infrastructure upgrade is engineered to continuously enhance regional approval rates and optimise complex transaction processing costs.

NTT DATA

Tapping into a vital market gap, AXS and NTT DATA unite their networks to let users seamlessly settle overseas financial commitments via local channels

NTT DATA and AXS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build interoperable cross-border bill payment capabilities across their respective networks.

The partnership addresses a vital market gap for individuals living and working abroad who maintain overseas financial commitments, such as utility bills and insurance payments. 

The initiative will initially focus on connecting the highly integrated markets of Singapore and Malaysia.

Under the proposed model, AXS will serve as the orchestration layer and connectivity hub in Singapore, while NTT DATA’s e-pay will act as the access point for Malaysian billers. 

NTT DATA will lean on ADAPTIS – its unified payment services platform – to deliver the infrastructure, with long-term plans to scale into additional Asian markets. 

Jeffrey Goh, Group CEO of AXS, says: “By enabling interoperability with trusted regional partners, we aim to make bill payments more accessible and convenient for users who manage obligations across borders, starting with Malaysia.” 

Beyond bill settlement, the alliance lays a foundation to explore adjacent services like merchant solutions and collections.