A Great Savings Account
Written: Feb 28 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to use, exceptional interest rate, very secure.
Cons: Takes a while to set up, takes a while to transfer funds between accounts.
The Bottom Line: HSBC Direct is a great way to let your money grow with very little effort.
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| wvhokie55's Full Review: HSBC Bank USA |
I opened an online savings account with HSBC Direct a few months ago. So far, I've been very impressed.
The account itself was pretty easy to open. That basically involved answering some simple questions. For some reason, it was unable to verify my bank information during the part where you deposit funds, so I had to wait a couple days before I could do that.
Your username, ATM card, and password arrive via snail mail within 2-3 weeks. The username is very long (~14 digits), but you can change it immediately. You can't use the online banking site until you have all three items, so don't expect to start using the account immediately.
The online banking system seems to work very well. They appear to be using some good security features, which is important since anyone with access to your online banking can transfer funds in or out of the account. True, it may take a little bit longer to log in to the site because of the security, but I think it's worth it.
You can link your online savings account to another account at any bank and move funds around easily, though there is a three day wait. Amazingly, this doesn't cost anything.
Once you're all set up, just sit back and watch the interest accrue each month. What's great about this account is that there are no fees and only a $1 minimum balance. The interest rate is the same if you have $5 or $500,000, which is different than most of the high-yield online accounts. It's also FDIC insured, so it's very safe. At 6% APY, the account earns more and is much more liquid than a CD.
I recommend setting up direct deposit from your employer. Not only will this force you to save, your money reaches the account faster than if you had manually transferred it yourself from another account.
I've had to call customer service a couple times, mainly just to ask questions about how the account works, not because I was having a problem. I was able to get through very quickly and everyone I've spoken to so far has been incredibly knowledgeable and professional.
The only complaint I could possibly have is that the online banking software sometimes doesn't accept my password, even when I know I've typed it in correctly. It locked me out completely the other day, but I called and explained the situation, and I was back in quickly. This experience taught me one important thing: WRITE DOWN YOUR ACCOUNT NUMBER! They'll ask for it when you call, but they don't send it via snail mail with any of the other info, so write it down somewhere in case you get locked out.
Overall, I highly recommend HSBC Direct. With just a few thousand dollars in the account, you can make enough money in interest each month to take a friend out to dinner. How cool is that?
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
wvhokie55
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Reviews written: 13
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