I’m noticing more and more people flocking to liquid accounts recently. One of the more popular online savings accounts out there is the HSBC Direct Online Savings Account, offered by one of the oldest and most established banks in existence. If you’re concerned about just how solid your financial institution is, you may have less to worry about with this bank; according to Forbes, as of last year, HSBC is the fourth largest bank in the world in terms of assets and was considered the most profitable bank in the world in 2007.
Granted, these days, we’d be lucky to find an online account offering 2% APY. HSBC’s savings account is now at 1.35%, but it’s still a good place to park your assets for the liquidity and security it gives you.
So what are you getting by signing up with HSBC Direct, the online arm of HSBC?
Our HSBC Direct Online Savings Account Review
Here are 10 reasons to like HSBC Direct. Some of this bank’s features and benefits:
1. No monthly fees, no minimum balance requirement.
Like many other desirable savings accounts out there, you won’t be subject to any fees whatsoever. You can transfer your money as much as you like without incurring fees. Ditto with using your ATM card as much as you need to — no ATM fees from this bank. Plus you can open an account with just $1!
2. Links to an unlimited number of external accounts.
You won’t need to open a checking account in order to partake in the benefits of HSBC’s savings account. That’s because you can link your HSBC savings account to any number of other accounts you already have! I like the convenience you get with the ability to perform seamless online transfers.
3. Highly regarded and awarded.
Their customer support is available around the clock and has a great reputation, so much so that they even received Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s award for “Best Customer Service” in 2006, along with the “Best Overall Online Savings Account” honor this same year. They received the latter award because of their strong customer service, ATM card network, their $1 minimum balance requirement and relatively high return. The next year, Money Magazine gave them the “Best of Breed” honor in 2007. Their most recent award is from Forbes, which has ranked HSBC as number one in their annual Global 2000 ranking in the Forbes April, 2008 issue.
4. Access to your money through HSBC ATMs. Receive a free ATM bank card or debit card.
HSBC Direct customers have access to the HSBC ATM network; this means that account holders are able to perform free transactions (deposits and withdrawals) via ATM, using their ATM cards. This feature isn’t too common among other online bank accounts, so this bank has a leg up in this regard.
5. Check writing is available via HSBC Checking.
If you need to write checks, you can open a checking account with HSBC and conveniently link it to your HSBC Direct savings account. Transfers are free and easy between your accounts.
6. High yield interest rate that’s several times the average bank rate.
As mentioned, HSBC Direct is one of the higher yielding online savings accounts out there. They remain highly competitive in this arena, with an interest rate that is currently at 1.35% APY.
7. Great customer service.
As a customer, you’ve got access to top-notch all-around-the-clock customer service. No surprise that HSBC Direct received Kiplinger’s award for best customer service a few years ago. Though most online accounts are flimsy and limited with their support, you won’t have that problem with this bank since it’s easy to contact them via online messaging or their toll free 24/7 customer service help line.
8. Easy access to other online banking features.
To enjoy additional internet banking features such as electronic bill pay (one time or recurring) in a highly secure online environment, you can open an HSBC Direct Online Payment Account. It’s what you can use alongside an Online Savings Account for expense management. Not only this, if you’re interested in CDs and credit cards, HSBC Direct provides these additional products as well. You can easily move your funds around between various accounts under a single online set up.
9. Use the Registers feature, an online checkbook register.
Speaking of bill pay and expense management, you can track, categorize and manage your expenses better with the use of an HSBC service called “Registers”. It’s an online version of a checkbook register which allows you to manage your spending, reconcile your accounts and obtain reports. Here’s a simple tutorial to show you how it works.
10. Use the Easy View feature.
I’m a fan of having all my accounts accessible in one place to better organize my financial life. Well, HSBC Direct has an account aggregation feature called Easy View that’s similar to what many other popular money management tools offer, and it’s powered by Yodlee. I find this to be a huge selling point of HSBC, since this feature is not one that’s commonly provided by other institutions. With Easy View, you’ll be able to review, manage and track your online bank accounts, investments, mortgages, loan and credit card accounts under the same umbrella and using one password. It’s a wonderful way to keep tabs on your net worth! Here’s a preview page of what you’ll see with this feature.
And don’t forget that this savings account is fully FDIC insured!
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I like HSBC. I have some accounts with them and from my experience, their customer reps have been helpful and very easy to get in touch with. Been happy with them for a while now.
This seems to good to be true. Are there any bad user experiences you know of? I would actually consider something like this…
I think the rate is lower than the most top deals, but comparable to ING’s rates. HSBC has decent reputation for online banking and a user friendly site, so it may be a good choice.
Thanks!
I use ING Direct and the interface is great but they always seem to be a couple of tenths of a percent lower than HSBC which is annoying. Emigrant Direct and Presidential Online Bank seem to always have the highest but for whatever psychological consumer reason I trust the first two’s brands more.
HSBC Online savings are good… Citibank Online Savings are somewhat similar…But HSBC has a better brand equity than Citibank probably
Thanks for the Easyview tip. Been a HSBC for 3+ years and never knew it existed.
Today I received a check that says it’s part of a large sum of money that I had won. It came from a company called prime plus Inc. I would like to know if this company has an account with HSBC and if they are passing out checks to random people? Just thought I’d ask.
Good thing you asked. It sounds suspicious. I am not affiliated with HSBC at all (I am just a blogger discussing them here), but why don’t you give them a call? I’ve provided some contact links in my article. What do you mean by “you won”? Is this one of those random checks that arrive in your mail saying you won a million dollars? I would run away from those as fast as I can.
It may be a check kiting scam or may be some harmless marketing / promotional scheme that is designed to make you part with your money and time. Prime Plus Inc may just be using HSBC for this, I don’t know. But if you are concerned with the legitimacy of your check do give HSBC a call to clarify this — and talk to a real customer service agent.
I really like HSBC Direct. I think it’s a great online bank which I found to have pretty good customer support. I had some issues with my local bank; my biggest beef had to do with overdraft fees. When I moved my savings to HSBC Direct, I stopped having problems.
In my country, HSBC with ANZ is leading foreign banks. Personally, I choose HSBC with another local bank, my HSBC account is mostly used for overseas payments and check collect. Love their e-baking services and customer support too.