HSBC is one of the most popular bank in the world, open an account here is possible. Follow these steps to get your own account. Step 1 will tell you about the process.
This is not a fast proccess and can take one or two months to complete depending on your actions.
You need to speack english very fluently as you will need to have direct contact with the bank by phone.
First you need to contact HSCB offices to their phone 1-800-975-HSCB (4722) or 1-888-404-4050
You need to ask for the bank account you need and they will send you the forms by email. You print them, fill them and send them by normal mail. They will review it and, if everthing is alright, they will open the account.
If you need help filling the forms you can contact 1-716-841-7542
On the mail you will get some letters. First the welcome letter with the account number. Then you will get two more. One with the details for phone banking and other with the debit card. Later on you will get a final one with the debit card password.
Key Information you Need to know.
The account is free as long as it as money moving on it. If the account becomes inactive then it will pass to a “Basic” model with a $3 monthly fee.
To qualify for HSBC Premier, you need to maintain $100,000 in combined personal deposit and investment balances or $500,000 in combined personal deposit, investment, and credit/mortgage balances. Business owners may use their commercial balances to qualify for personal Premier membership. A monthly maintenance fee of $100 will be incurred if minimum balance requirements are not maintained.
To speak to a Relationship Manager about becoming a Premier client, outside the U.S. call collect 1-716 841-6866.
A US based address is required for opening HSBC bank account. So read more about it before go to the next step. We are also posted resouce about US address, you can see on the right side.
They normally open the Premier account when you don’t have a US based address. The solution is to hire a mailing address and use that to ask for the free account. You need to set that addres for the mails in the form W8-BEN you will need to fill.
You will also need an utility bill to certify the address. Now, as you will not be able to get that utillity bills with the mailing address service they will sent the documentation of the account to your local address (except the online banking password, more on that later)
Remember to check our resouce about US Address.
Letter from your local bank is also required, make sure you know about it. This is an important step.
It’s very important to have a local bank reference letter. As to send screenshots of the local bank accounts you have. By doing this the bank is working according the Patriot Act, which demands that they should be making all the reasonable efforts to validate the customer origin.
If you don’t have a local bank account or credit cards, you better get it prior the procces fr opening the US bank account in HSCB.
Your local address needs to be validated with an utility bill. If this documents don’t have your name on it or if the address is not exact you need to fix that. If it’s a rented place you need to send a signed contract that can certified your address.
They will send it by email along with a special link for you to create a username for your online banking service.
You will also need a password that the bank will send via regular mail. The problem is that they will only send this to a US based address. So you will need to use the forwarding mail service. Be sure not to use a P.O. Box as this is not accepted for the bank.
Now this needs special attention: When you give the address be sure to ask them to read it for you for confirmation. Sometimes their system don’t get the forwarding mail addresses correclty. If this is the case ask them to put the address in the “attention” field.
Now, this mail can take some time. Two weeks or more. The best is to be patient. You can call the bank after a few weeks to check that the mail has been sent.
Very Important!
Remember, this process is not a “standard service” so there could be problems. If this happen the best is to contact them to see what can be done.
For instance, as you will be using a mailing address service, you need to mention it as it is: A forwarding mail service for merchandise and regular documents/letters. Be sure not to use a Postal Address or P.O. Box, which is not accepted by the bank. Even when this is similar the big difference is that a forwarding mail services have a person responsible of receiving the documents which will not going to happen in a P.O. Box. If the bank ask you need to explain it in clear therms.
HSCB customer service is very friendly and they do try to give you the best service possible. At the end if you do everything correctly you will see it is worth the effort.
STEP 1: The Process in simple words
Next you will find guidelines on how to get a bank account in HSCB. The sucess depends a lot on how you are qualified by the bank and it is not guranteed.This is not a fast proccess and can take one or two months to complete depending on your actions.
You need to speack english very fluently as you will need to have direct contact with the bank by phone.
First you need to contact HSCB offices to their phone 1-800-975-HSCB (4722) or 1-888-404-4050
You need to ask for the bank account you need and they will send you the forms by email. You print them, fill them and send them by normal mail. They will review it and, if everthing is alright, they will open the account.
If you need help filling the forms you can contact 1-716-841-7542
On the mail you will get some letters. First the welcome letter with the account number. Then you will get two more. One with the details for phone banking and other with the debit card. Later on you will get a final one with the debit card password.
Key Information you Need to know.
STEP 2: Choose account type
There are two types of account, the Free and the Premier. You would find better to open the “Free”. The Premier charges a $50 fee every month. The “Free” doesn’t charge anything monthly.The account is free as long as it as money moving on it. If the account becomes inactive then it will pass to a “Basic” model with a $3 monthly fee.
To qualify for HSBC Premier, you need to maintain $100,000 in combined personal deposit and investment balances or $500,000 in combined personal deposit, investment, and credit/mortgage balances. Business owners may use their commercial balances to qualify for personal Premier membership. A monthly maintenance fee of $100 will be incurred if minimum balance requirements are not maintained.
To speak to a Relationship Manager about becoming a Premier client, outside the U.S. call collect 1-716 841-6866.
A US based address is required for opening HSBC bank account. So read more about it before go to the next step. We are also posted resouce about US address, you can see on the right side.
STEP 3: A US based mailing address
Even when the bank will agree to open a US based account for a non-US resident, they will ask for a US based address to send your mails.They normally open the Premier account when you don’t have a US based address. The solution is to hire a mailing address and use that to ask for the free account. You need to set that addres for the mails in the form W8-BEN you will need to fill.
You will also need an utility bill to certify the address. Now, as you will not be able to get that utillity bills with the mailing address service they will sent the documentation of the account to your local address (except the online banking password, more on that later)
Remember to check our resouce about US Address.
Letter from your local bank is also required, make sure you know about it. This is an important step.
STEP 4: Local References
The bank will ask you to send references in order to complain with the Patriot Act.It’s very important to have a local bank reference letter. As to send screenshots of the local bank accounts you have. By doing this the bank is working according the Patriot Act, which demands that they should be making all the reasonable efforts to validate the customer origin.
If you don’t have a local bank account or credit cards, you better get it prior the procces fr opening the US bank account in HSCB.
Your local address needs to be validated with an utility bill. If this documents don’t have your name on it or if the address is not exact you need to fix that. If it’s a rented place you need to send a signed contract that can certified your address.
STEP 5: Set Up Your Online Banking Service
A very special task is to get the online banking access. The normal proccess ask for a SSN. What you need to do is call the bank and ask for a “Temporary ID Registration”They will send it by email along with a special link for you to create a username for your online banking service.
You will also need a password that the bank will send via regular mail. The problem is that they will only send this to a US based address. So you will need to use the forwarding mail service. Be sure not to use a P.O. Box as this is not accepted for the bank.
Now this needs special attention: When you give the address be sure to ask them to read it for you for confirmation. Sometimes their system don’t get the forwarding mail addresses correclty. If this is the case ask them to put the address in the “attention” field.
Now, this mail can take some time. Two weeks or more. The best is to be patient. You can call the bank after a few weeks to check that the mail has been sent.
Very Important!
Remember, this process is not a “standard service” so there could be problems. If this happen the best is to contact them to see what can be done.
STEP 6: Always tell the truth
Don’t try to disguise your situation to improve the odds on getting the account. If they simply suspect there is something unclear they will simply tell you that you can’t have the account.For instance, as you will be using a mailing address service, you need to mention it as it is: A forwarding mail service for merchandise and regular documents/letters. Be sure not to use a Postal Address or P.O. Box, which is not accepted by the bank. Even when this is similar the big difference is that a forwarding mail services have a person responsible of receiving the documents which will not going to happen in a P.O. Box. If the bank ask you need to explain it in clear therms.
HSCB customer service is very friendly and they do try to give you the best service possible. At the end if you do everything correctly you will see it is worth the effort.
