Jan 18, 2002 11:31 AM
8586 Views
(Updated Jan 18, 2002 11:31 AM)
I have banked with several Indian banks in the span of my 25+ years. I have had accounts with the lousy State Bank and the swanky ICICI Bank.
Recently, I have seen a wave of promotion from foreign as well as Indian banks to attract more retail customers, at the expense of PSU banks. I have been watching with great interest the great media campaign unleashed by BNP Paribas in Mumbai and the huge accounts drive launched by HSBC.
Pre Account Opening:
One day an HSBC sales rep. Approached me and gave me a big speech (nice one though) of why I should move to HSBC. I always thought HSBC had high minimum deposits and service charges, but I think that was a myth. After 20 minutes of presentation, the guy was able to convince me enough to open an account.
I signed the application form and gave him a copy of my drivers license etc. This was on a Wednesday. I also gave this guy a token amount cheque to open my account, I think Rs. 1000.
Post Account Opening
I had totally forgotten about HSBC and my form, due to my heavy work schedule, but no. On Friday I received two packages from HSBC in the courier. One contained my account-opening package and the other contained my chequebook. Can you believe that IN JUST TWO DAYS!!! This is like even faster than banks in Europe and America.
Next day (Saturday) I received my debit card + ATM card. I can’t believe it, so fast! And on Monday I received my PIN #s and all other bank numbers.
I am highly impressed with HSBC’s service thus far. There was a spelling mistake on my cheques so I called up their phone-banking center and within two days I received new chequebook with the correct spelling. Again reason to be impressed.
Service charges
If you don’t have a minimum balance of Rs. 10,000 HSBC will charge you 100 rupees per month in service charge. I have no problems in paying this. It is worth every penny. It is worth every paisa.
ATM Network
HSBC has a strong ATM network in India and in foreign countries. They have a huge huge branch network in every part of the world. Just that in India, I hope they tie up with other banks such as ICICI etc to allow each other’s users to use the ATMs free of charge. I think they should do this to expand their network overnight. It will benefit both ICICI and HSBC.
Phone Banking
I am impressed with their phone banking and their phone reps. Just that I have to remember too many numbers and passwords. Why cant they simplify and have just one single #. I have this problem with most banks in India. I guess it is because India does not have any unique identification # for its citizen, such as the SSN for Americans or National Insurance # in the UK.
Fund transfer:
ICICI is excellent in wire transfers. I have not yet tried this with HSBC, but am assuming they are as efficient as ICICI in this regard.
Overall a great bank, with no exorbitant charges. They are open 7 days a week in many cities and upto 3PM in the evening. They are setting standards of service. I wish them good luck and will slowly move my banking from ICICI to HSBC.
I hope they live up to their promises for a long time to come.
