HSBC, short for Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, is a global financial services organization serving more than 40 million people across 64 countries.

US.HSBC is the digital branch for residents in the United States. Their product suite is limited to just a handful of deposit accounts but they feature decent yields.

Currently they offer the following products:

• Premier Savings Account
• Premier Relationship Savings Account
• CDs (certificates of deposit)

As an open-membership digital institution, HSBC US makes its accounts—including checking, savings, and certificate—available to nearly anyone that applies.

For the purpose of this review, we will solely focus on HSBC’s CDs and their rates. These rates are available only if opened online. Continue reading our review to see if their CDs are right for you.

HSBC CD Rates + Account Details

HSBC CD accounts offer decent rates on a limited set of terms. Below are HSBC current CD rates (online only) and terms.

CD Rates

To put these offers in perspective, the current national average for a 12 month CD and a 24 month CD sit at just 1.49% APY and 1.35% APY, respectively, according to FDIC data.

If you’re in the market for a longer term CD, there are still credit unions paying 4.00% APY or more on 60 month terms but HSBC does not offer long term CDs at this time.

Minimum Deposit Requirement

HSBC US CDs require a minimum opening deposit of $1,000 and they must be opened online.

Compounding and Crediting Interest

Dividends are compounded daily and credited at maturity for 6 and 12 month terms and credited either monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually for a 24 month term (your options for how often your interest is paid on a 24 month account will depend on what’s applicable to your account when you open it). If your account is eligible for periodic interest payments, you can have these automatically credited to another HSBC deposit account rather than having them reinvested in the CD.

Grace Period and Early Withdrawal Penalties

Avoid an early withdrawal penalty after renewal by making changes to an account within the 10 day grace period after maturity (this includes the maturity date). Early withdrawal from terms of up to 369 days will cost you 30 days’ interest, from terms of 370-733 days will cost you 90 days’ interest, and from terms of 734 or greater will cost you 180 days’ interest. Only the first fee applies at the moment, of course.

How to Access and Fund Your Account

To fund a new CD, you can deposit money in the following ways:

• electronic funds transfer,
• transfer from existing HSBC account,
• wire transfer, or
• mobile check deposit.

Initial deposits must be made with new money and can be as little as $1.00. However, once the account is open you can move funds from existing HSBC accounts.

Once your account is open you can withdraw money using the following methods:

• Electronic funds transfer
• Transfer funds to another HSBC bank account
• Wire transfer

About HSBC US & Customer Experience

HSBC US (us.HSBC.com) is an online-only bank despite being a subsidiary of a global institution.

If you look at the 48 customer reviews for HSBC on Consumer Affairs, you’ll see a paltry rating of 1 star. If you look at the 1,731 reviews on WalletHub, you’ll see a respectable 3.9 star rating. Finally, out of 366 reviews on Trustpilot, HSBC clocks in at just 1.7 stars. Why the discrepancy? Interestingly, HSBC customers pretty much report one of two experiences: very good or very bad.

For some, HSBC customer service is nothing but excellent. For others, it’s consistently terrible. Mixed reviews like this make it difficult to know who to believe, but in many review forums, HSBC scores more 4 and 5 star ratings than anything else. 

One common theme across these ratings, which appears as both praise and a complaint, is the strict security protocol of the bank. While some appreciate HSBC’s diligence in keeping account holders safe from identity theft and fraud, others are just frustrated by security measures such as phone calls and account freezes when suspicious activity is presumed.

Contacting HSBC

There are many ways to get in touch with an HSBC representative. If you want to go the traditional route and get some help with your account over the phone, customer service can be reached any day of the week at (800) 975-4722 – Mon – Sun from 7am – 9pm ET. You can also send HSBC customer service a letter at the address: HSBC Bank USA, N.A. P.O. Box 2013 Buffalo, NY 14240