HSBC 6.0% promotion

[Aleta]

Mine was taken out of my account on Jan31st and was deposited on HSBC on Feb 2nd. I didn't know that HSBC was London based. There was an article in the Herald today about mortgage failures and people who didn't have down payments and the problem it is now causing. It was in the business section.

[mrvirgo]

Wretched Transfer Time
I wanted to take advantage of the 6% promotion but didn't want to be a victim of HSBC's notoriously slow transfer time. I first moved money on a Tuesday (Jan 30) and the funds were in on Friday (Feb 2). The next time I initiated a transfer on a Sunday (Feb 11) and the money was there on a Wednesday (Feb 14). 3 days and 3 days as promised by HSBC.
I guess the secret is only move money into HSBC on Sunday/Monday/Tuesday other wise you will need 5 days to see the funds into your account.

[scfr]

Originally Posted by BTC

Has anyone mentioned that HSBC's transfer times suck?

Yes, they does. We had an account with them awhile back but closed it because it took them 8 days to deposit our funds! Also, the rate started out high but then plummeted. We closed our account and are sticking with a few accounts that consistently offer higher-than-average rates with fast transfer times.

[vsjhoc]

BTW ... HSBC's name was formerly The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.

[FrugalIII]

I started the application process before coming to this forum. I've had lots of problems with the process, the funding of the account and yes, the transfer time. It's very annoying but I'm willing to put up with some inconvenience to get a better rate. I don't have much money to start with and need all the growth I can get. However, I did talk to several very helpful customer assistance persons. I had trouble with one, who couldn't speak much English, but the others were great. If I had to do it over, maybe I would have looked elsewhere.

[smpllf]

The 6% looks good but when I did some calculation it's not a lot better than 5%. This is based on a few thousand $. So moving $3,000 from 5% to 6% I would get about $8 more and for $10,000 I would get about $25 more.

[sweeps]

Originally Posted by smpllf

The 6% looks good but when I did some calculation it's not a lot better than 5%. This is based on a few thousand $. So moving $3,000 from 5% to 6% I would get about $8 more and for $10,000 I would get about $25 more.

You could always take $250 of your savings and open an ING account for an instant $25 bonus. Then open an E*Trade account with just $1 for another $25 bonus. That's a pretty good rate of return. Then just close out the accounts later.

[smpllf]

That is 1 way to earn money but for me it's a bit risky. Lately I heard a lot about missing data. Even if I close the account most of the financial institutions still keep my personal info in archive tape/disk. What if the tape or hard drive that has my info is lost - it's not worth it. I don't feel comfortable giving them my personal info to open another account just to get some $.

[sweeps]

Originally Posted by smpllf

That is 1 way to earn money but for me it's a bit risky. Lately I heard a lot about missing data. Even if I close the account most of the financial institutions still keep my personal info in archive tape/disk. What if the tape or hard drive that has my info is lost - it's not worth it. I don't feel comfortable giving them my personal info to open another account just to get some $.

Understood. But just think of all the institutions that can lose your personal data: the IRS, the SSA, the FBI, your state tax department, the DMV, your brick-and-mortar bank, schools and colleges you previously attended, any company that you have a loan through, military organizations (if you previously served), credit bureaus, any company that handles personal information for other companies, your mail carrier, the post office, anyone with access to your mailbox, utility companies, anyone that can hack into your computer with financial information on it, ..........................

[Duchesse]

Originally Posted by sweeps

You could always take $250 of your savings and open an ING account for an instant $25 bonus. Then open an E*Trade account with just $1 for another $25 bonus. That's a pretty good rate of return. Then just close out the accounts later.

Hey Sweeps, Can I open up another account (even custodial)with ing to take advantage of this offer? ING was my very first online account.

I am going to take advantage of this E*trade offer. I have a 12 month CD maturing there in May.

[sweeps]

Duchesse, I'm not sure about your ING question. Maybe some ING folks can chime in?

Regarding the Etrade offer, it supposedly expires at the end of the month so you should act fast.

[kv968]

Originally Posted by Duchesse

Hey Sweeps, Can I open up another account (even custodial)with ing to take advantage of this offer? ING was my very first online account.

It states on the ING site that, "$25 account opening bonus only available for new accounts with a new Customer as the primary owner." So if you open another account in your name you won't be eligible for the offer. If you open a custodial account with that person being the primary owner? I take it then they would be able to get the bonus.

[mrvirgo]

It's easier to break into Fort Knox than to log on to HSBC, but then you know you won't ever open their home page and find you account reads $00.00 due to fraud. They take safety to a new level! So I can put up with their extra layer of caution.

[krayziebone33]

Lately, HSBC's transfer times have been incredible. I put in for a transfer on Thursday that was deducted on Friday and should be credited tomorrow. I'll wait and see.

[mrvirgo]

krayziebone33, did you have HSBC transfer money to your HSBC account? I've found they are very fast pulling money from other banks, but you won't see it credited to your HSBC account for two more days after that. What happens to your money those two missing days is anyones guess.
If you know something I don't know about speeding transfer time, please let me in on the secret. Basically, no matter what I've done with them in the last year, it's three days either in or out, no matter which bank is pushing or pulling. The slow transfer time is the only thing I don't like about HSBC.

[catlinye_maker]

Originally Posted by mrvirgo

krayziebone33, did you have HSBC transfer money to your HSBC account? I've found they are very fast pulling money from other banks, but you won't see it credited to your HSBC account for two more days after that. What happens to your money those two missing days is anyones guess.

It's sitting in HSBC's accounts, earning them interest. It's part of how they are able to offer the high savings rates. If everyone else can manage an ACH transfer in two days, it's the only explanation that makes sense. They're "working the float". IMO only, no hard facts to back it up. I certainly hope that's the reason for the long transfer times, otherwise we're looking to incompetence for an explanation.

[wyett3]

Look at the comments to this blog entry Is HBSC Taking Advantage Of The Float? An Experiment » My Money Blog. HSBC's transfer slowness seem's to be due to their choice of using CashEdge's 3-day transfer system.

Here's HSBC's reply to my question "Where is my money during bank2bank transfers:

Bank to Bank Transfers are ACH (Automated Clearing
House) transactions and go through a clearing process
through the Federal Reserve. Once the money is debited from
the sending bank, it will take approximately one business
day to reach the ACH Network, approximately one business
day to be processed through the Network and approximately
one business day to post to the receiving bank. As the money
is not in the account at throughout the transfer processing
stage, there is no way to earn interest. We apologize for
any inconvenience this may cause.

I guess CashEdge is earning interest on the float as its cut for processing the transfer. As big as HSBC is you'd think they could do better!

[mrvirgo]

All I want to know is: has anyone had problems moving money OUTof HSBC? I know it typically takes them at least three days to make transfers either in or out. Everyone knows they are notoriously slow! I am concerned that at the end of the 6% promo, they will give me grief when I go to pull my money out. If on May 1st they drop their rate significantly, I will join the stamped to the exit. I don't want to face a huge delay waiting to get my cash elsewhere. Thanks.

[sweeps]

Other than the 3-day delay, no never had a problem withdrawing from HSBC. Initiate the withdrawal at the beginning of the week to minimize the time in transit.

[mrvirgo]

Thanks Sweeps. I want to move another 3K into my on line savings account but will need some of that money to pay my taxes in April. I was afraid I might run into glitches and thus become delinquent on my federal and state taxes.I always make a withdrawal either on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. The rest of the week is asking for a long delay which I don't want.