Dear Ser, not Mr or Ms? Feel free to be Misc, Mux or M. Yours, HSBC
FOR years, banks have offered customers a sometimes bewildering array of services, from savings schemes to mortgages to credit card deals.
But HSBC, one of Britain’s biggest banks, went a step further yesterday by offering customers no fewer than 10 different “non-gender specific” titles to choose from.
No longer are clients stuck with the traditional “Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms” when choosing how they wish to be addressed. HSBC has come up with a wide range of titles for those unwilling to commit to one gender or another. These include Mx, which is considered the most common gender neutral title, and Ind, which stands for individual.
Others on the list are: Mre, which is short for “mystery” and Pr which means “person”. Then there is: M and Misc (short for miscellaneous); Msr (a combination of Miss/Sir); Myr (for which HSBC offered no explanation); Sai (pronounced “sigh”); and finally Ser (pronounced “sair”).
The new titles are available to people who do not identify as a particular gender, or who do not want to be identified by gender. The titles, which come into effect from today, will be applied across a customer’s account, including bank cards and correspondence. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) charities welcomed the move and praised the banking sector in general for taking “huge strides” to making people with transgender issues feel valued.
A Stonewall spokesperson said: “It’s great to see an increasing number of organisations prioritise issues affecting trans people. The banking sector has taken huge strides towards making lesbian, gay, bi and trans employees and customers feel valued.
“This was demonstrated earlier this year by Lloyds Banking Group, who came number one in our top 100 LGBT inclusive employers in Britain”.
But the move was met with criticism from some Christian groups, which suggested the new titles were simply a PR stunt to make the bank appear socially progressive.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, chief executive of Denial of Christian Concern, described HSBC’s gender neutral titles as a “denial of reality”.
She said: “This plays into the hands of a new political ideology. HSBC thinks this is progressive but it is actually regressive and absurd and will confuse people. I think it’s sad if people want ‘mystery’ as a title. It is a denial of reality.
“Major public institutions are beginning to pander to this latest fad of political orthodoxy for fear of being seen as illiberal.”
Stuart Barette, trans lead for the HSBC UK Pride network, said: “We are a commercial enterprise and we want to appeal to all our customers. If we don’t improve, then the transgender community won’t bank with us, and we don’t want that.
“Ultimately this isn’t us trying to lay claim to the ground and do a PR stunt, this is a genuine effort.”
Last year, Metro Bank became the first UK bank to welcome customers who do not identify as male or female. The decision came after Scottish teenager Kaelin Farnish raised concerns about not being able to be recognised as “non-binary” when opening a bank account.