HSBC CDs online or off

When looking to find a high interest cd account from HSBC, it is interesting that a lot depends on whether you plan to open the account online or over the phone. The terms that are available and even the APY rate you will earn is dependent upon that detail. This does make the evaluation and description process for these CD accounts a bit trickier, but hang in there and let this review sort out some of the details.

Minimums and Fees

Thankfully in the area of minimum requirements, it does not matter whether the cd account is opened online or over the phone the requirements are the same. HSBC requires a minimum deposit of $10 when opening a cd account, but you will need to deposit $1,000 in order to earn the APY rate quoted. This is about average as far as the industry goes. There are several online banks that do not have any minimum requirements for cds including Ally Bank and Sallie Mae Bank. Bank Truth even has a video bank review of Ally Bank. As these are cd accounts there is a penalty for withdrawing fund before the maturity date. For online certificates of deposit this amount is listed under the frequently asked questions section and 30 days of simple interest. There are no monthly maintenance fees for HSBC online cd accounts.

Terms from HSBC

HSBC has a variety of certificates of deposit available. Some may be applied for and opened completely online using HSBC’s online banking services. The terms available online are 3,4,6,7,8,9, and 11, 12, 13, 15, and 24 months. If you choose to open one of these term cds, you will receive the rate that is in effect when your account funds. The interest is compounded daily and all accounts are FDIC-insured. Until we talk about rates it is really impossible to say whether these are high yield cds.

Pretty much any other term you desire can also be applied for at HSBC bank, but you will need to do this over the phone or at a local HSBC branch. If you are willing to call or go to a physical branch location, the shortest term available is  a 1 month cd and the longest is 10 years. Remember that when dealing with certificates of deposit, the length of the term is a key factor.

Rates

Here again there is a difference between accounts opened online and those opened over the phone. Please see the chart below for the rates that apply to online cds only.

Please notice the drop in the rate that occurs, if you select a two year cd as opposed to a 15 month cd. Also notice the jump up in rate from 11 months to 12 months plus one day. That is a huge difference! Make sure you are selecting the best cd rate for your goals.

Now here are the rates if you use the phone or go into a branch to open a cd account.

As you can see at cd opened online receives the best cd rate. There is a marked difference in the rate if your term is 1 year or more but, remember to balance that fact with the early withdrawal fee. The rates for these cds are really not that high. If you are under a year term the rates are dismal until you get to the magic threshold of 1 year.

Summary of HSBC CDs

After doing the research, I came away thinking that HSBC’s system is unnecessarily complicated by the fact that they differentiate between online openings and over the phone applications. The website for HSBC had quite a bit of information, even if fees and disclosures where a little more difficult to discover. Please, do your research before opening a certificated of deposit. You really do want your money to be working as hard for you as possible, and you do not want the interest that you earn to be swallowed up in fees either. HSBC does well by its customers when it comes to fees. Really the major factor here is that HSBC rates are barely competitive.

If you are interested in learning more HSBC has a checking account as well as a savings account.