HSBC plans to blanket its future London headquarters with cameras and biometric scanners, expanding staff surveillance on a scale rarely seen in British banking.
Internal presentations seen by Reuters show the lender intends to install 1,754 closed-circuit television cameras at Panorama St Paul’s, the office it will occupy from 2027, compared with 444 devices at its existing Canary Wharf base. The number of biometric readers would rise to 779 from 350. Access for most staff will also be “digital”, using an app installed on personal smartphones to unlock doors.
The security overhaul is part of what HSBC calls a “global security strategy” aimed at harmonising controls across its estate. Similar systems are being rolled out in New York this year, and documents outline planned deployments in India and Mexico. A person familiar with the budget said the London upgrade has already tripled to about $15 million.
HSBC employs more than 31,000 people in the United Kingdom and 210,000 worldwide. Some employees have resisted the shift to biometric and phone-based entry since it began in 2022. Hybrid working has compounded monitoring challenges for banks, which must keep regulated trading floors under constant watch.
“The safety and security of our people is at the forefront of everything HSBC does,” a spokesperson said, adding that buildings are regularly risk-assessed and fitted with “cutting-edge technology” where vulnerabilities are found.
A separate statement to Financial News echoed that stance: “We continue to invest in the latest technology to safeguard our colleagues, customers and visitors in line with industry standards”.
Internal slides cited petty thefts at Canary Wharf and rising crime within a one-mile radius of the new site as justification for extra cameras, including on entry points to trading floors where artificial-intelligence analytics will screen footage. The documents list Israeli firm Octopus as a key supplier of monitoring software already in use at offices in London and Hong Kong.
The surveillance push comes as HSBC tightens attendance rules. Senior managers have been asked to work from the office at least four days a week from October, a move meant to draw more junior staff back to their desks.
Privacy campaigners warn that ever-expanding workplace monitoring can erode employee trust and wellbeing, though national data-protection laws limit how footage and biometrics are used. HSBC has not commented on how long such data will be stored or who will have access.
