HSBC installs ‘dementia' specialist staff in Hong Kong

They will assist the elderly with their finances.

HSBC Hong Kong has deployed staff with specialist knowledge in dementia in a bid to support the growing elderly population, reports South China Morning Post. 

Around 45 ‘dementia ambassadors’ will be deployed to offer practical advice to elderly especially with regards to processing account information and remembering passwords. Voice identification systems and modern ATM services will also be rolled out in the near future.

HSBC pledged to increase the number of ambassadors to 160 by Q1 2019 and spread them across branches.

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“Some elderly people with dementia repeatedly withdraw cash from their account and forget they have done it,” Maggie Lee, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Association told SCMP.

An earlier survey by the Alzheimer’s Disease Association and HSBC revealed that over 80% of those with dementia require assistance with banking from their family or carers.

The number is only expected to climb further as Hong Kong’s ageing demographic is set to account for over 36% of the population by 2066, data from the Census & Statistics department show.