HSBC Account Opening Process Complete

11 Responses to “HSBC Account Opening Process Complete”

1. 1
   Dus10 Says:
   February 22nd, 2006 at 9:08 am

   You may want to go ahead and get the ATM card. You will need it to perform and Bank-to-Bank Transfers, else you will have to call in and have them push you through that portion of the setup. Also, if you ever get locked out of your account, they will ask for you ATM pin number. I never intended on having these sorts of issues, or even using the ATM card, however, I think I will keep it, and just stick it in the drawer. If an emergency occurs, and I need the money, I can withdrawal it from an ATM immediately, rather than waiting three days for the transfer to occur. While I will certainly be charged for an ATM withdrawal (as there are no HSBC ATMs around), it would most certainly be cheaper than the reprecussions of the emergency need being delayed.

   Also, after they deposit the $25, you may want to look into opening a checking account with HSBC. I used the $1 I deposited to open the Online Savings Account, and funded my new free checking account. I found a promotional code for free $50 for opening a checking account. It looks good through the middle of March. However, I have doubts as to whether I fulfilled what was required to get the $50 bonus. You may have to open a special checking account that requires a minimum balance of $3000, or have direct deposit, in order to avoid fees. This checking would yeild a return. However, I opened the free checking account. In any event, I may have my direct deposit changed from my current checking account to my HSBC Online Savings Account, so that my average daily balance is higher, and I will get a better return. If you link your savings and checking, you can do instantaneous transfers, so I could transfer funds as I write checks.

2. 2
   nickel Says:
   February 22nd, 2006 at 9:26 am

   Great points on the ATM card Dustin. I had to jump through the phone call hoop to hook up my external accounts since I didn’t have an ATM card (and hence no PIN). Then again, I would have done that anyway, because I wouldn’t have wanted to wait for the card/PIN to arrive.

3. 3
   Nick Says:
   February 22nd, 2006 at 9:28 am

   I waited for the freakin’ PIN. It showed up yesterday on Day 20 for me.

   But now it’s time to send all my money to HSBC! Heeeeere it goooooooes!!!! Wooooosh!

4. 4
   jim Says:
   February 22nd, 2006 at 10:29 am

   I think I might have to open up an HSBC account now… so many bank accounts, it gets to be a bear. And you never know, HSBC might pull an ING and start putting into place hoops that make it hard/impossible to link up other online savings accounts.

5. 5
   Tom Says:
   February 22nd, 2006 at 9:04 pm

   My wife and I use ING, and we’re going to be getting as far away from them as possible. Even though we’re using ING for long-term savings, I don’t like the length of turn-around on getting your money, and the fact that they’re so inaccessible. We’re also doing the same for USAA Bank, which is also pulling an ING with the way they make it difficult to link your account to external accounts. What I learned from this lesson is that ‘online banking’ is GREAT (I really like it), but the experience will be best if you go with a local brick-and-mortar establishment that offers Internet-based services.

6. 6
   Scott Says:
   February 23rd, 2006 at 9:57 am

   I thought about signing up for the free checking account, but I noticed that HSBC will automatically change it, “If the Free Checking account is inactive for three consecurive months, the account will be converted to Basic Banking and will be subject to the Basic Banking Terms and Charges.” Basic banking fees state:”Regardless of Balance:
   $3 Maintenance Fee” imposed on their accounts. I decided it wasn’t worth it to me to sign up.

7. 7
   John Koontz Says:
   February 24th, 2006 at 3:44 pm

   I opened my HSBC online savings account about a week after you. I just got my $25 bonus this week.

   I also had to call in for the PIN override. I’m still waiting for the ATM cards.

8. 8
   nickel Says:
   February 24th, 2006 at 3:58 pm

   John, thanks for the update. I logged in and, sure enough, the bonus has been credited.

9. 9
   Rob Says:
   February 24th, 2006 at 5:00 pm

   I just opened up an HSBC account and finally got all of the paperwork (minus the ATM card I didn’t want). However I saw that HSBC charges $3 per transfer outside of the account. Now hopefully that is for wire transfers, but if it’s not I will be quickly closing this account if I have to pay $3 everytime I want to transfer money into ING or somewhere. So if anyone has any insight on how much it costs everytime they ACH transfer money out of the account I’d appreciate it.

10. 10
    nickel Says:
    February 24th, 2006 at 5:05 pm

    While there is verbage about a $3 transfer fee, there is also an exclusion for a variety of accounts, including the online savings account. Thus, you should be in the clear as far as fees go.

11. 11
    Rob Says:
    February 24th, 2006 at 5:25 pm

    Has anyone made any transfers out of their HSBC online savings account yet? Because I had to call in order to add external accounts and asked the rep who helped me, and he said that there was no way to avoid the fee for transfering funds outside of any HSBC account to a non-HSBC account.