How to Open a Business Account with HSBC

Indeed, a well-established traditional bank can offer optimal solutions to any business that is interested in smoothing financial workflow, managing inherent risks, and investing in continued growth in a sustainable manner. Whether it is you or not, read all about HSBC, one of the biggest banking institutions in the world.

What You Need to Know About HSBC

Established in 1865 in Hong Kong, today HSBC serves around 40 million clients (including more than 2 million business clients) in 63 countries across the globe by providing personal, corporate and private banking products and services. The biggest bank in Europe takes pride in having managed to change with numerous changes and survive several internal and external crises, for these experiences helped build expertise that can be shared with a client in every corner of the world.

Such divisions are included in HSBC:

Commercial banking of small, medium-sized, and middle-market businesses

The global banking and markets division provides an investment banking and financing product for corporate and institutional clients. For the markets and securities services, the services included are in equities, credit and rates, foreign exchange, and others.

The wealth and personal banking division caters to customers whose main aim and will is to effectively manage, protect, and grow their wealth.

Group service centres were set up in developing countries to cut costs, such as customer centres and software engineering centres in India.

Why HSBC? Millions around the world trust HSBC for many reasons, among which are:

In 2019, Euromoney named HSBC the world’s best bank for small and medium-sized businesses.

Extensive branch network for those needing to conduct face-to-face customer service

Local customer service by phone

Large network of specialists that advise on capital investments, risk management, domestic and international payments, etc.

However, you shouldn’t look only at the surface when choosing the most suitable solution for your business. Take some time to acquaint yourself with every type of business account that HSBC has to offer and requirements the bank may have for you so you can eventually use the banking tools to grow your business to new heights.

Types of Business Bank Accounts

HSBC wants to meet the needs of every form and size of enterprise and organization; hence, there are many types of current accounts available. Take your business size into consideration, the complexity of operations, and budget to select what best suits you.

HSBC Kinetic Current Account:

This product is targeted for sole traders and single director shareholder businesses who can enjoy the following benefits:

• No monthly account fee for the first 12 months from the date of opening an account (6,50 GBP – approx. 7,30 EUR per month after that)
• Loads of benefits, like up to 30% off business broadband with TalkTalk Business and discounted flexible office space from WeWork
• 1.000-10.000 GBP – approx. 1.100-11.000 EUR loans with a repayment term of 1-10 years
• You can apply for this account through the HSBC mobile application, and it only takes a few minutes to submit the details
• 24/7 online bank (browser and mobile)
• The account will also allow you to monitor your cashflow and categorised spending by showing a monthly breakdown

Eligibility criteria for opening a Kinetic Current Account:

Legal business structure – Sole Trader or Limited Company

Tax residence – an applying business must be a tax resident in the UK (Channel Islands or the Isle of Man are excluded)

For mobile banking purposes, an iPhone 6 or newer or Android handset is required

The HSBC Small Business Banking Account

is for small businesses only, including non-profit organizations and has the following advantages:

• No monthly account fee for the first 12 months from the date the account was opened; otherwise, 8 GBP, or about 9 EUR, a month. An ability to make payments of up to 25,000 GBP, or about 28,000 EUR, per day via the HSBC mobile application.
• The facility for euro, dollar, or other foreign currency current accounts, charged at 17 GBP, or about 19 EUR, or currency equivalent a month.
• The Tomorrow Ready Hub for business insights and resources;
• A mobile application to pay, check the balance and transactions, and manage standing orders and direct debits;
• The account can be linked with Sage, a cloud-based small-business accounting software, for seamless invoicing and efficient administration of VAT and other taxes.

The following businesses are eligible for a Small Business Banking Account:

Any legal business structure, except Sole Trader and Limited Company with one director only

Borrowing requirements up to 100,000 GBP (approx. 112,000 EUR)

There is no requirement to be supported by a relationship manager

The HSBC Charitable Bank Account

allows small and medium-sized charities and non-profit organizations with a charitable purpose to undertake day-to-day banking. Key benefits:

• Lower prices for banking products and services
• Monthly statements
• Business internet banking and mobile application enables online account management
• Widely available HSBC UK branches are convenient to those organisations who still operate by using cash and cheque and prefer face-to-face service
• Global Payments, HSBC’s preferred supplier of card merchant services, provides a variety of products and services to charities and non-profit organisations that want to accept payment cards and online payments

What makes an organisation eligible for the HSBC Charitable Bank Account:

Organisation must be registered as a non-profit organisation

Must not undertake any activity for the benefit of its shareholders or to make profit

It should not be a political party that puts up candidates for election unless it is a political activity or a non-political campaigning activity in support of its non-profit purpose

The HSBC Business Banking Account

is for those businesses with requirements for more than 100,000 GBP, about 112,000 EUR, in credit. Its benefits include the following:

• Free banking-no account maintenance fee and free standard transactions on the primary account-for 12 months: 10 GBP, about 11 EUR, thereafter
• No annual fee for Visa business cards for the first 12 months available for you and your employees (32 GBP, approx. 36 EUR yearly for each card after that)
• Business loans and overdrafts you could apply for to continue growing your business
• HSBC UK Business Banking mobile application to scan and deposit cheques and perform other related account actions
• Sage synchronization: a cloud-based small-business accounting software that will enable easy invoicing and management of VAT and other taxes in your account; international payment of over 60 currencies
• Current accounts in euros, dollars, or any other foreign currency at 17 GBP – approx. 19 EUR or the currency equivalent a month

Your business is qualified for HSBC Business Banking Account if:

• It is a small or medium-scale business or a non-profit organization that requires support through a dedicated relationship manager.
• It can have the need to borrow over 100,000 GBP (approximately 112,000 EUR) domestically and internationally.

The HSBC Corporate Bank Account

is for large business and includes the following features :

• A dedicated relationship director with commercial expertise.
• Business support and resources through the digital HSBC Knowledge Centre.
• It offers two online banking solutions depending on your needs for business banking:
  • Business Internet Banking solves problems of smaller but busy organisations that need access to flexible services
  • HSBCnet is targeted at the larger organisation with complex business transactions
• Pay by credit card online

Your business is eligible for opening a Corporate Bank Account if:

It’s a business or non-profit organization with an annual turnover above 10 mln. GBP, which is roughly about 11 mln. EUR.

Most likely, your business trades internationally and has a larger transactional volume and may require complex lending structures.

Please note that even if you have free banking or are within your fixed price period, respective charges for certain services are still applied at a standard price. So, you should pay serious attention to the price list provided by HSBC and make sure it fits your budget before concluding an agreement. For example, cheque services can be charged from 4 up to 20 GBP, approx. 4,50 – 22 EUR depending on a concrete service.

BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS

To apply for any of the HSBC business accounts, you’ll have to provide the following information:

Full registered business address, including postcode

Contact details: landline number, mobile number, email address

Companies House registration number, in case you run a Limited Company or Partnership

Estimated turnover

Full names and dates of birth of all founders, partners and directors

Telephone number and email address of every founder, partner and director

Present address and previous address if the person has lived there less than three years of every founder, partner, and director

Account numbers of those founders, partners, and directors who already use HSBC services

Details of debit/credit cards of every founder, partner, and director

If your case is to open a business bank account for a large business, then you are supposed to provide personal information for anyone owning at least 25 percent of the business. You will need to provide the following documents: A proof of identity of the founders, shareholders, and directors will be required, which could be in the form of a passport or national ID card.

• Proof of address of every founder, partner and director (a current bank statement, utility bill, or council tax bill displaying a full name and registered address)
• Proof of address of the business, including contact details
• A document displaying the turnover, or estimated turnover, of your business, and the invested amount

The Process of Opening a Business Account With HSBC

Setting up an HSBC business bank account varies depending on the account type you want to set up. To open the Kinetic Current Account, you can do this online in only a few minutes. If your needs are more complex and you require more sophisticated financial products and services, you’ll have to visit a branch locally where you can discuss the options available to you and eligibility.

You save on time since you leave all the legwork on the closure of your old account to the HSBC team, handling, on your behalf:

• Inform your old bank that you’ve closed down your account with them.
• Transfer the balance and all automated payments to HSBC.
• Close your old account at any date convenient.
• Automatically divert all future payments to your new bank account.

This means that, if you already have a business bank account elsewhere and want to switch to one of HSBC’s business accounts, you first need to open a Business Current Account with them. Only then is the switching process handled by the team at HSBC.

You can initiate the new Current Account Switch Service if:

• Your business turnover doesn’t exceed 6,5 mill. GBP (approx. 7 mill. EUR) annually and employs less than 50 people
• You run a charity with an annual income of less than 6.5 mill. GBP (approx. 7 mill. EUR) or a trust with a net asset value of less than 6,5 mill. GBP (approx. 7 mill. EUR)

Should you want to open a business bank account with HSBC, our team here at Regulated United Europe will be able to assist you. Drawing from eight years of experience opening bank accounts throughout Europe for our clients, we reach into our extensive network of trusted partners within the European financial services industry to offer the most appropriate and cost-effective solutions that enhance efficiency for the businesses we serve.