HSBC to step up surveillance of staff, offices globally

British banking giant HSBC is planning to increase its surveillance of staff and buildings by adding more security cameras and biometric systems on its premises worldwide, a Reuters report has revealed based on internal documents.

Citing an internal presentation by the HSBC security team dated May 2025, the bank plans to install 1,754 corporate security cameras in its new UK office in the City of London, Reuters reported. 

In comparison, HSBC's current global headquarters in Canary Wharf only has 444 security cameras installed in a much smaller area. 

Some of the cameras will be placed at the entry and exit points of trading floors and integrated with artificial intelligence analytics technology, the presentation showed.  

Biometric readers will also be doubled from 779 to 350, with access to HSBC’s top facilities in the UK and the US to be based on biometric verification.

Employees are also expected to badge in to work using internal company software installed on their mobile phones, the report said.

Pressure to have company software installed on their personal devices was met with some resistance from staff, Reuters said, citing an individual familiar with the matter.

Set in place in 2022, the new biometric surveillance policies have yet to be adopted by most of the UK staff partly because of the opposition, the person said.

The presentation justified the need for increased CCTV surveillance on unspecified ‘theft incidents’ in the Canary Wharf building. It also highlighted recent ‘crime data’ that indicated an increase in incidents, including burglary, within a one-mile radius of the new HSBC London office. 

When asked for a comment, an HSBC spokesperson told Reuters that ‘the safety and security of our people is at the forefront of everything HSBC does.’

"We regularly risk assess every building and dependant on the identified risk and vulnerabilities, we continue to invest in the latest cutting-edge technology to safeguard our colleagues, customers, and visitors in line with industry standards," the bank added.

The report also noted HSBC’s plan to deploy Octopus surveillance tools in India and Mexico this year. Based in Israel, Octopus’s surveillance technology has been reported to be used by the Israeli government to monitor Israeli cities and a European Union-funded refugee camp in the Greek island of Samos.

Recognized as Europe’s biggest bank by assets, HSBC has over 210,000 staff in 62 countries, including more than 31,000 in the UK. The company recently underwent a major restructuring, including the consolidation of its banking divisions and hundreds of job cuts in February.