If you thought you’d take advantage of HSBC’s Internet Banking promotional APR of 4.80%, you’re in for a wild ride. Actually, your ride probably won’t even start. I initiated the application process more than three weeks ago and everything is not yet complete. To thwart the maximum amount of fraud possible, HSBC has left no stone unturned.
The initial account sign up process alone requires around 60 minutes to complete, assuming you don’t make any errors. If you do screw something up, you may have to start over if HSBC fails to save your application details. If you’ve moved in the past seven years, have recently changed your phone, or have a driver’s license on file with a different address, get ready to do some serious typing.
You will also need to memorize a recent copy of your credit report, as you will be asked to verify information from it. Be mindful that a company on your report might go by a different name and it may take several attempts at selecting the correct company from the list of lenders that own you, and filling out the entire application again, before you succeed. When I phoned customer service about it, the man I spoke with was uninterested and told me to start over again.
Finally, it will be time to verify a funding source. You can easily get screwed here. You will have two options. 1) Verify your funding source via Internet login and b) verify funding source via ’small deposits’. You will only get a single attempt with any bank account you have. So, for example, if you try to pick the quickest method, which is verification by Internet login, and it fails as a result of some failure on your bank’s end, you cannot use it as a funding source for your HSBC account. This can be painful if you only have a single account you want to use to fund from for whatever reason.
Of course, my bank screwed up — the connection timed out, whatever — and I was denied convenient, online funding of my HSBC account. As a penalty, you’re required to mail in a cheque for the amount you wanted to conveniently transfer via EFT. The clock is ticking. You only have 30 days. Eventually, you will receive confirmation via email that your cheque was receiving if you’re unlucky enough to have chosen the Internet login option and it failed. Were I able to do it again, I’d choose the ’small deposits’ option since that’s essentially fool proof.
You’ll have to wait nearly a full business week for your cheque to clear. Once it does, wait a little longer for HSBC to mail you your account number. Days later, you will receive your account password. They’re mailed separately, which makes sense. The waiting involved for the cheque to clear is quite irritating, however. You aren’t earning any interest at all while you wait.
If you want to move your money in or out in meatspace, you need to wait another week for your ATM card to come. Then wait a few days for your PIN to be mailed separately. It’s been over three weeks and I only have mine today!
Once you can finally login to your account, you’ll find the HSBC Online Banking Web site a complete mess to use. It’s somewhat pathetic, although it is useable. New windows pop up all the time when you click stuff, defying all logic. If you want to sign up for EFT so you can transfer money easily to and from your HSBC Online Banking account, be ready to fire up either IE or Firefox, as Konqueror for example fails from yet another security feature: a form based keypad. Yes, that’s right, you have to click out your PIN and account number. Keyboard input is denied. How extremely slow and annoying.
Once all is said and done, if your bank still sucks and you can’t set it up as a funding source for EFT via Internet login, just pick the trial deposit option. You only get a few tries — yes more than one this time — for your bank not to screw you over before your perferred funding source is blacklisted. Don’t worry, it’ll only be three business days and may, I’m reminded, happen as early as tomorrow. At this point, I am fairly certain I am working for my money and not the other way around.
Yay, what HSBC joy will tomorrow bring?!
Update, March 22th. On the 20th I did get my $25 signup bonus. Yay!
Update, May 19th. After moving all my money to a much nicer GMAC Bank savings vehicle, I received an email from HSBC today offering 4.65% APR over their much lamer 4.50% APR for the past month.
Update, March 26th, 2007. I just tried to signup for a HSBC Interest Checking Account. Once again, as happened a year earlier, online verification of my bank’s checking account failed. Typical. When attempting to follow the only option then presented to me, trial deposits, I am again told This is an error Page. Incompetent.
Why, you may ask, am I subjecting myself to HSBC’s abusive signup process yet again? $75 signup bonus for their crap Interest Checking Account. Otherwise, yes, never again.
Stan said,
November 22, 2007 at 9:57 am
Yes. I understand your frustration with setting up an account with HSBC. I experienced it myself, and even wanted to abort my attempt to start this after one-week of waiting. Anyway, I did it.
To give HSBC a credit, I must say that once the account is established and the banking connections set up - everything works quite well. I even managed to establish a bank to bank transfer between HSBC and my brokerage account, where they pay almost nothing on any cash balances. I also did my first bank to bank reverse transfer (HSBC -> my bank). Pleasent surprise - no fee charged by HSBC.