HSBC "Safeguard"

I haven't seen the HSBC request letter, but can confirm that all banks are being asked to obtain more information about their clients.

This includes things like employment and income details, country of birth, country of residence, marital status etc. Some customers are also being asked to re-identify. A lot is linked to money laundering prevention, including tax evasion.

A lot of banks have already been doing this to some degree with new customers for a number of years now. HSBC are very very very far behind the times on almost every aspect of their business, so they appear to be having a knee-jerk reaction to the latest requirements by doing this for their existing customers.

I recall the same thing happening around 2003 around Identification and KYC - Some banks were insisting on new ID for any new product even for an existing customer who had already been through the ID process.

So whilst all banks are going to have to collate more information, HSBC is the only one I have heard of which is doing blanket "surveys" to customers in this way.
 
I have been an hsbc customer since I worked for them 20 years ago. I don't live in the uk any more but it is handy to keep a sterling account there. So when I got the letter I went to some trouble to provide the requested documentation and had my local non-hsbc bank authenticate it. Now I've had another letter saying there is a problem with the paperwork, no further details, ring this number (which is on the Isle of Skye). After a bit of hanging around I'm finally told that it was rejected because my bank didn't use the prescribed form of words... I'm really p***d off about this because while the wording may differ the meaning is the same. Thinking I'll ignore this one and see what happens....
 
HSBC are now chasing me again. I closed all accounts with them apart from the current account, which was switched to another bank. So some inapparent reason they've not closed the current account as should automatically happen.

I'm not going to waste my time on it further. They'll realise their mistake at some point.
 
This is the bank that thinks its a good idea to use "voice recognition" to authenticate you on the phone. They also withdrew two-factor authentication on their phone app for several of their services (e.g. checking balances and payments). I think they've had an idiot in charge of customer security for the last five years or thereabouts.
 
HSBC are a joke, & not even a good one.

Had an account with them years ago when lived in England, but was staying & working in Wales, only coming back every other weekend. Started getting letters asking me to come into the bank, but no reason as to why they wanted me to. They're not open weekends, so sod all I could do about it & couldn't take time off as was self employed, meaning no pay & lads I took through to Wales wouldn't get work/paid either.

Couple months later, my card was renewed, but obviously sent to address in England, where I couldn't get at it. Surprisingly, bank in Wales sorted it so I could withdraw money there without it, but few weeks later it was blocked, so had to keep withdrawing it without the card, no problem, which surprised me big time.

Job was finished, dragged our arses back to blighty & went into bank following Monday to see what the problem was & get a replacement card. Turns out they were accusing me of money laundering. HSBC, accusing me!? hahahahaha.

They closed my account, said I'd never be allowed another one through them & said they'd send me a cheque for what I had in the account once it was processed. Short argument later, I walked out of the bank with all of my money, straight into another bank & made new account with ease. Only thing that bank does is pester me if I want a credit card from time to time :rolleyes:
 
Barbadella said:
I have been an hsbc customer since I worked for them 20 years ago. I don't live in the uk any more but it is handy to keep a sterling account there. So when I got the letter I went to some trouble to provide the requested documentation and had my local non-hsbc bank authenticate it. Now I've had another letter saying there is a problem with the paperwork, no further details, ring this number (which is on the Isle of Skye). After a bit of hanging around I'm finally told that it was rejected because my bank didn't use the prescribed form of words... I'm really p***d off about this because while the wording may differ the meaning is the same. Thinking I'll ignore this one and see what happens....
Click to expand...

This Safeguard stuff is a pain, I too live overseas and hold HSBC accounts still in UK which are mostly dormant - they still have my savings but I haven't withdrawn / deposited from these accounts in several years. First they sent a long questionnaire with lots of questions - including about an inheritance I received a few years prioir and where the wealth of the deceased originated (it wasn't a big amount for an inheritance- only just into the 5 figures). They threatened to close my account if I didn’t respond in time.

Then after that came the long Safeguard questionnaire, this time threatening to limit cash withdrawals if not completed.

Now they’re after something else regarding tax self certification (what, for the tax on 0.25% or whatever interest they pay on positive balances now?)

I tried to move to Barclays but being based outside of the UK they wanted a minimum deposit of £100k
 
It's probably related to anti money laundering, but also potentially to FATCA/CRS regulations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Reporting_Standard) which are aimed at identifying individuals who potentially have bank accounts (usually outside their home country/tax domicile) which are used to hide money or income to avoid paying tax.

The bank has to provide lots of details to the regulators, and will get massively fined if they don't have the right processes in place to identify individuals of 'interest', collect, and submit the required information.

HSBC are being more active than most other UK banks in trying to demonstrate compliance with these regulations, as they have been accused of failing to properly implement similar regulations in the past and have paid very large (i.e. >£1 billion) fines in the past for AML breaches.
 
dowie said:
what information were they asking for?
Click to expand...

Letter has been shredded now as it's no longer an issue. From memory they wanted multiple forms of ID for person and proof of address. Preferably passport, photocard driving license, Council tax or utility bill. Or ironically a bank statement from anyone other than HSBC! All of which had to be certified.

I had issues with an elderly relative's bank accounts last year (not HSBC) relating to income from investments and US money laundering regulations, so this smacks of something similar. Typical UK customer with a current account, cash saving and credit card etc with a PAYE salary going in are nothing to do with those regs. I wasn't happy with my passport number being likely to end up in some US government database thanks to HSBC.

It's certainly nothing to do with "better protect(ing) all our customers from fraud and financial crime". They had all the ID they required when I opened the account back in the early 90s.
 
You haven't moved since the 90s?? And by 'multiple forms of ID' you mean two?

You're right that it's not to benefit the customer but they have to comply with the regulations they need to abide by. It is a pain though.
 
As far as HSBC are concerned I moved once, when I left the family home. A one minute scan of my bank statement has the mortgage payments, utility bills and 1001 other things on there to prove I live and work at the address they have (and quoted me on a mortgage for).

Anyway it's a redundant point having switched to another bank. They trusted that as an existing customer I was who I said I was and I earned an incentive for myself and a friend in the process. They don't bank outside the UK and have some ethics so I'm happy. Thanks to HSBC I got some cash that went towards a new graphics card!
 
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