HSBC Business Account

antuk

Hi all,

Im looking at opening an HSBC business account, can anyone advise on how long it takes roughly for the account to be setup and usable?

Is it quicker to setup and appointment in branch rather than submit it online (which i assume will involve a trip to the branch anyway for ID verification?)

Thanks,

Regshoe

antuk wrote: »

Hi all,

Im looking at opening an HSBC business account, can anyone advise on how long it takes roughly for the account to be setup and usable?

Is it quicker to setup and appointment in branch rather than submit it online (which i assume will involve a trip to the branch anyway for ID verification?)

Thanks,

When I opened mine with HSBC (and I suspect for most business banks this will be the same) I submitted an initial inquiry online, but I had to go in to the branch to meet their "business adviser" with my "business plan" (rather galling for a qualified accountant to have to provide this to a glorified salesperson, particularly when you aren't asking for any credit, but I digress....). So I expect however you first contact them they will want to haul you into a branch.

As I recall the actual account was setup immediately (during my appointment) and I could logon straight away, they handed me the security dongle straight away, though of course the cards, cheque books, etc. took a week or so to arrive. They are generally anxious for you to start paying in money ASAP so that they can charge you for the pleasure of having your money in their bank!

Scarpacci

When I signed up online it said they would phone me soon. Within a few hours, I was on the phone to go through the business in more detail - that took about half an hour as I recall. A few days later I received all the information by post, including a request to take ID to a branch. I didn't have to talk to any advisers in branch, just hand in the forms and ID to be verified. After I did that, it was about ten days until the cards, cheque books, security cards, online banking info had all arrived.

End to end it took just shy of three weeks for me, but I must stress part of that would be the few days between receiving the forms and being able to go to branch.

Regshoe

That doesn't sound too bad, pretty sure I wasn't given the option to not go into the branch. Mind you when I rang RBS to try to get one of their really basic accounts (one of the few mostly fee free ones) they wouldn't even consider giving me an account because I'm an accountant!

InsideInsurance

I did mine in branch and walked out with the account open and the internet banking set up with the fob in my pocket.

Getting the appointment to do this was a bit of a pain but I suspect that element is very branch dependent

antuk

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Getting the appointment to do this was a bit of a pain but I suspect that element is very branch dependent

Yeah your not kidding, booked an appointment today but its not until next month!

InsideInsurance

antuk wrote: »

Yeah your not kidding, booked an appointment today but its not until next month!

Mine was fairly quick when I got them to do it but I dropped into the branch a couple of times as its on my way to the station but each time they either couldnt find the list or the person who controlled it wasnt about so "someone will call you shortly" which never happened.

Barclays was the worst though as they wanted share certs and didnt like the ones from my accountant used. Made the changes they wanted and they still didnt like them. Used the ones that they emailed me that were Barclays branded and they still didnt like them but after changing them they finally accepted them on the 4th appointment but each one was a 1-2 week wait.

IronWolf

I set one up yesterday for my Ltd co so am well placed to answer this.

I signed up online, they asked for only a brief description of the business and basic financial forecasts. I may have had it easier because I said it would not be funded with debt, and wouldnt need any debt. So they didn't ask me for a business plan or any of that crap.

It took me 30 minutes to fill in the application, then I had to go into branch to prove my identity. They said I will get confirmation in a few days along with a debit card and cheque book.