So, I just switched my old NatWest account to HSBC, because of the latter’s £200 bribe (mentioned before in this forum, under HSBC 200£ bribe for CASS switching).
It highlighted just how far behind the times HSBC are, and once I have collected my bribe, I’ll be closing the account immediately.
Setting up the account was slow, tedious and time consuming. To activate the debit card, I had to:
phone a call centre abroad to have someone set up a phone security PIN for me, which involved telling them two memorable words, and then entering a number into a computer system using the phone keypad
use that security number to begin to set up online banking, which involved another memorable word, a bunch of security questions, before asking me to install the mobile banking app as an MFA token
the extremely confusing mobile app then required SMS verification of my phone number, before finally allowing me to generate a token, which I could use to proceed with the online banking setup
finally, after all of that, I was able to activate my debit card
Contrast Monzo:
Use in-app video to request card
Tap “card arrived” in the app when it arrived to activate it
The mobile app is years behind what I took for granted with NatWest, let alone Monzo, though at least HSBC supports Apple Pay… at least on paper, because every time I try and add the card, it fails, telling me to contact my card issuer. Given my experiences so far, I think I’ll pass
HSBC are terrible. I’ve managed to get by for years with HSBC but their customer service is poor. They have a number of strange policies which make banking with them difficult and complicated. Closing an old cash ISA account took 25mins over the phone… Couldn’t do this online.
I’m in the process of switching my DDs to Barclays as I think their mobile app and online banking is in a much better position but once Monzo provides a way to separate my bill/household funds with spending money I will use them as my main bank.
I am switching to HSBC for the bribe too (ker-ching) but haven’t heard a thing since I started the process online a week ago. Does this ring true with you?
Hi,
I have closed my HSBC account and moved to Monzo 2 weeks ago.
To close it just needed to send a message using the internal mail you have on your homebank page.
Took 1 week.
HSBC took a couple of weeks (and searches in my history) when I opened an account with them just over a year ago. Very bad experience with them overall and everything said in this thread is, sadly, true. Doing the CASS incentives elsewhere
When I arrived in the UK they looked like a solid bank due to their branding so I wanted to open my first account there. After several one-hour appointments and hard searches on my credit file (which ruined my credit 3 days after arriving in the country, thanks HSBC ) they declined my application as the proof of employment (a printed PDF sent from the head office to my employer’s local branch) according to them didn’t have the proper letterhead.
WTF does that even mean - every company has their own design guidelines that define what the “proper” letterhead is. If it’s about money laundering they shouldn’t be looking at the letterhead in the first place - call the company directly and ask them to authenticate the document, as a fraudster will easily forge any letterhead they so desire.
In the end I went with Nationwide - still legacy rust but at the very least they opened the account with no issues. One thing is certain though, I am never going back to a legacy rust-based bank again. I’d rather deal with the shortcomings of challenger banks (like the lack of Apple Pay) than go through this nonsense.
HSBC is horrendously bad. I’ve seen so much just wrong with HSBC. Fraud claims are dealt with poorly, their processes make everything ten times harder than it needs to be, etc.
When my US credit card needed replaced they insisted on sending it DHL with no pickup allowed except at depot. Well, I’m never home during the day due to work. Without a car do you have any idea how hard picking up from a DHL depot is?
The card arrived pretty quickly, and I then immediately called them to kick off the account switch. I think they were meant to call me about it, who knows whether they would have.
Just got an update to their Android app and they’ve introduced card blocking and unblocking. Looks immediate to me from the way they’ve worded it in the prompt to toggle it on and off. Still a crappy bank with a million and one security answers and passwords to remember though.
Get me the CEO’s direct number at once. I need to tell him how I misnamed the company he runs on a competitors community forum.
While I’m at it I might as well ask about a middle management position. Well why not? Somebody has to get rid of the laundered money it might at well be me!
I was voice typing and I’m not really bothered about spelling errors, it’s a bit childish and pedantic. I’m gathering you understood what I meant. I hope this correction has made you feel a bit special.
I put down what I thought was the name, got corrected, had a bit of a laugh then this…
As for myself feeling special, I can’t even begin to tell you how much your post made me truly realise from the very bottom of my heart, that I couldn’t care less.
) they declined my application as the proof of employment (a printed PDF sent from the head office to my employer’s local branch) according to them didn’t have the proper letterhead. 
I’ve always thought it was without the and. Hmmmm everything I thought I knew was a lie! How can I rebuild my life? 
