HSBC Bank USA, N.A. (HSBC) and SoftBank Robotics America (SBRA), the North American arm of SoftBank Robotics Group, today announced they will begin a larger rollout of Pepper®, the engaging, social humanoid robot, to HSBC branches nationwide, starting in its iconic Beverly Hills location. This morning, customers in Los Angeles County will be greeted by Pepper, standing ready to answer questions and provide a memorable banking experience.

“Los Angeles has a thriving and rapidly growing tech sector. As such, we’re excited to be able to bring a digitally enhanced retail banking experience to our customers in Beverly Hills,” said Pablo Sanchez, Regional Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management (RBWM) for HSBC in the U.S. and Canada. “We’re focused on developing the ‘branch of the future,’ and our use of Pepper in our flagship branch in NYC has streamlined branch operations, delighted our customers and enabled our bank staff to have deeper, more high-value customer engagements.”

To overcome traditional perceptions of retail bank branches, Pepper’s standard capabilities were customized to create a retail banking experience that is exceeding expectations of U.S. consumers. HSBC will use Pepper in the branch to enrich the value and depth of customer engagements, and the overall branch experience, by offering customers basic product information and the availability of self-service banking options, as well as asking some initial questions to determine how we can best meet their banking needs.

“While Los Angeles is the undisputed entertainment capital of the world, we feel it’s about time the banking customer experience be just as fun and engaging,” said Jeremy Balkin, Head of Innovation for HSBC. “Los Angeles is becoming a tech innovation hub in its own right, and this is one of the reasons we feel it’s incredibly important to bring Pepper into our Beverly Hills branch and further transform the US retail banking customer experience.”

Since HSBC first launched Pepper, the bank has seen ATM transaction volumes increase, a notable rise in new credit card applications and there’s been record foot traffic through its flagship branch at 452 Fifth Ave – most importantly, according to Balkin, “the smiles on the faces of people and customers banking is priceless.”

Key features available to customers in Beverly Hills via Pepper include:

• Notify a banker – Pepper will communicate directly with bank staff based on customers' answers to qualifying questions. HSBC's goal is to reduce customer waiting time and free up the valuable time of their skilled bankers to deliver a more personalized service.
• Tutorials and instructions – As HSBC rolls out bank branches of the future, customers need to be kept up-to-date on the latest banking technologies, products and services. Pepper provides information on ATMs, the HSBC Mobile Banking app, self-service options, customer support and more. By educating and encouraging the use of technical tools and platforms available to HSBC customers, bank staff will have deeper, more meaningful customer engagements.
• Products and services – Pepper will be used to drive attention to and awareness of HSBC products and services, including special promotions, so that customers can be better informed, facilitating more productive interactions with HSBC Relationship Managers.
• #PoseWithPepper – Pepper is all about making the retail banking experience fun and enjoyable for customers. HSBC launched a campaign to visit Pepper and #PoseWithPepper for a selfie. Customers and visitors are encouraged to upload their photos to their favorite social media channels using the hashtags #PepperatBH, #MeetPepper and #PoseWithPepper.

“We’re excited to expand our partnership with HSBC to the West Coast, bringing Pepper to a new retail branch,” said Kass Dawson, Global Head of Marketing Communications, SoftBank Robotics America. “Humanoid robots helping people and working alongside human coworkers is an idea no longer relegated to just a possibility. HSBC is helping us prove the Pepper has very real benefits for their customers.”

Pepper’s rollout is part of a larger vision to transform HSBC’s branch banking experience by providing a host of consumer-facing upgrades that is taking the franchise in an exciting new direction. By creating a revolutionary new type of digitally enhanced retail banking experience that uses data intelligence and leading edge robotics, HSBC is transforming the everyday task of a branch visit into the extraordinary.