The bank will get access to IBM's premium plan of quantum computing systems and quantum expertise to help validate and advance possible quantum use cases
HSBC enters into a quantum computing partnership with IBM. (Credit: Junius/Wikimedia Commons)
HSBC and IBM have entered into a three-year collaboration to explore applications for quantum computing in financial services such as pricing and portfolio optimisation, sustainability, risk and fraud.
The goal of the partnership is to strengthen the expertise of HSBC in quantum computing and enable its organisational readiness to fully leverage the technology.
Under the collaboration, the British multinational investment bank will join the IBM Quantum Accelerator programme. In doing so, the bank will gain access to IBM’s premium plan of quantum computing systems, which includes the 127-qubit processor, Eagle and the latter’s quantum expertise to help validate and advance possible quantum use cases.
IBM Research senior vice president and director Darío Gil said: “Financial institutions and organisations around the world are eagerly awaiting real-world applications of quantum computing and exploring industry applications for quantum computing should be a key tenet of any enterprise strategy today.
“We are excited to team with HSBC to explore applications of quantum technology to their business operations and help turn their aspirations into reality.”
HSBC also plans to upskill its employees in quantum technology with the help of internal training programmes apart from actively hiring quantum computing research scientists to develop a dedicated capability within its team.
HSBC Bank and HSBC Europe CEO Colin Bell said: “By investing in quantum computing we are innovating for the future, to make banking easier for our customers. This technology has the potential to transform how we run areas of the bank by addressing challenges which classical computers may never be able to solve, alone.
“Our work with IBM, a leading provider of quantum computing, is essential to harnessing this potentially game-changing technology for financial services.”