HSBC Business Account

A question about : HSBC Business Account

Hi all,

Im looking at opening an HSBC business account, can anyone advise on how long it takes roughly for the account to be setup and usable?

Is it quicker to setup and appointment in branch rather than submit it online (which i assume will involve a trip to the branch anyway for ID verification?)

Thanks,

Best answers:

• When I signed up online it said they would phone me soon. Within a few hours, I was on the phone to go through the business in more detail - that took about half an hour as I recall. A few days later I received all the information by post, including a request to take ID to a branch. I didn't have to talk to any advisers in branch, just hand in the forms and ID to be verified. After I did that, it was about ten days until the cards, cheque books, security cards, online banking info had all arrived.
  End to end it took just shy of three weeks for me, but I must stress part of that would be the few days between receiving the forms and being able to go to branch.
• That doesn't sound too bad, pretty sure I wasn't given the option to not go into the branch. Mind you when I rang RBS to try to get one of their really basic accounts (one of the few mostly fee free ones) they wouldn't even consider giving me an account because I'm an accountant!
• I did mine in branch and walked out with the account open and the internet banking set up with the fob in my pocket.
  Getting the appointment to do this was a bit of a pain but I suspect that element is very branch dependent
• I set one up yesterday for my Ltd co so am well placed to answer this.
  I signed up online, they asked for only a brief description of the business and basic financial forecasts. I may have had it easier because I said it would not be funded with debt, and wouldnt need any debt. So they didn't ask me for a business plan or any of that crap.
  It took me 30 minutes to fill in the application, then I had to go into branch to prove my identity. They said I will get confirmation in a few days along with a debit card and cheque book.