LONDON: HSBC plans to step up surveillance of staff and buildings by adding more cameras and biometric access to its premises globally, internal documents seen by Reuters show, a move that comes amid growing concerns about companies’ extensive monitoring of workers.
As part of its “global security strategy”, the bank plans a four-fold increase in the number of cameras at its new building in the City of London, a site about half the size of its existing office in Canary Wharf, an internal presentation by the bank’s protective security team dated May 2025, seen by Reuters, shows. According to the presentation, the new London building is expected to have an estimated 1,754 cameras, up from about 444 devices installed in its current global headquarters in Canary Wharf in London.
It also plans to double its biometric readers to access the new building to 779 from 350.
Under the plan, reported here for the first time, access to HSBC’s top-tier buildings, including in Britain and the US, should be based on biometric verification, including full-hand recognition.
Access can also be “digital”, with employees expected to use their own mobile phones to badge in, the presentation document shows.
HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank by assets, employs more than 210,000 people globally, including more than 31,000 across the UK.
Most employees are expected to use personal mobile phones with a firm-installed software on them to gain access. This has met with some resistance from staff, a person with knowledge of the policies said.
As of the end of last year, most of the UK staff had yet to adhere to the biometric and digital access policy which the bank started to implement in 2022, in part because of opposition, according to the person.
