HSBC among founding partners of scheme to combat bias against femtech firms

HSBC Innovation Banking has joined eight other founding partners of FemTick, an accreditation scheme aimed at fairer treatment of women’s health businesses.

Developed by CensHERship, the scheme will assess financial and commercial service providers on their approach to risk classification, customer experience and organisational accountability.

It aims to help femtech companies identify providers whose policies and services are suited to the women’s health sector.

The launch follows reports of women’s health businesses struggling to access banking, payment processing, insurance and eCommerce services.

Emma Stephens, head of growth and financing at HSBC Innovation Banking UK, said: “Women’s health is a fast-growing area of healthcare innovation with significant unmet need.

“We’re seeing high-quality innovation across the sector, but companies still face barriers to accessing capital, commercialising their products and scaling successfully.

“With one of the world’s strongest innovation ecosystems, the UK is well placed to drive progress in this space, and we’re proud to support the extraordinary innovators shaping its future.”

According to CensHERship, automated risk assessment systems have sometimes classified terms such as “menstrual”, “vagina” and “sexual health” as indicators of adult content or other restricted activities.

Its 2026 Bias Burden report found that every women’s health company surveyed had encountered barriers when seeking financial or commercial services.

More than 60 per cent reported losing revenue as a result, while some experienced delayed product launches, operational disruption and higher legal or operating costs.

Earlier research cited by CensHERship found that 75 per cent of surveyed women’s health companies had been refused a service or denied an account, while 61 per cent had experienced account closures.

One example involved intimate wellness marketplace SheSpot, which was placed in the same risk category as firearms and tobacco.

FemTick will assess participating organisations in three areas: leadership and accountability, risk classification and policy, and culture and customer experience.

Providers must meet CensHERship’s assessment threshold to receive accreditation.

The nine founding partners represent banking, insurance, eCommerce, accountancy, legal and advisory services, executive search, communications and digital platforms.

Alongside HSBC Innovation Banking, they are Tokio Marine Kiln, Commerce, Withum, Practicus, Novabook, Mills & Reeve, LT PR and Communia.

Clio Wood, co-founder of CensHERship, said: “Women’s health is one of the largest and fastest-growing opportunities in global healthcare, yet the infrastructure supporting the sector has not always evolved at the same pace.

“Our founding partners for FemTick recognise the scale of the opportunity and are among the first movers helping build the infrastructure needed for the sector to scale.”

Anna O’Sullivan, co-founder of CensHERship, added: “FemTick is about recognising what good looks like and making it visible.

“There are already banks, insurers, payment providers and other organisations actively adapting how they work to support women’s health companies, and we want to put a spotlight on them.