Since the coronavirus pandemic began, our focus has been on supporting our customers through these difficult and uncertain times. We’ve introduced temporary support measures that have meant customers have paid less for their arranged overdraft borrowing on many of our accounts.
Since 9 April 2020 we haven’t charged interest on at least the first £500 of arranged overdraft borrowing for most customers. We’ve also charged less interest for most customers on arranged overdraft borrowing over £500. We’ve extended both these measures until, and including, 29 August 2020.
If you continue, or reasonably expect to experience financial difficulties, you can apply to extend the temporary arranged overdraft support on your account(s) for a further 3 months. You can apply for this extension until 31 October 2020.
Who can make a request to extend the temporary arranged overdraft support?
The extension of this support is designed to help customers experiencing financial difficulties due to coronavirus. We encourage you to only request this extra support if necessary.
Extending the temporary arranged overdraft support will not impact your credit file.
You can submit an extension request if:
- you hold an HSBC current account that has an arranged overdraft limit
- you've been experiencing, or reasonably expect to experience, financial difficulties because of the coronavirus pandemic
- your ability to afford your overdraft has been temporarily affected – for example, you’ve lost your job or you’re having to work less hours
If this doesn’t currently apply to you, please don’t make a request. You’ll be able to make a request until 31 October 2020 if your circumstances change.
You should not submit an extension request if:
- you hold an HSBC account that doesn’t allow an overdraft, or you hold an HSBC Student Account
- you haven’t been directly, or indirectly, financially impacted by coronavirus
- you’ve already submitted an extension request
- we have agreed not to charge interest on your account for a set period of time
- you have an account with a negotiated rate (where we have agreed a non-standard rate for your overdraft)
How will this work?
Once you’ve submitted a request to extend the temporary arranged overdraft support, we’ll assess this and confirm in writing if we’ve accepted your request. The extension will be applied to your account(s) from the date detailed in the confirmation email, or letter, you’ll receive. These temporary measures are not a change to your contractual terms, which remain the same.
Towards the end of the 3-month extension, we’ll contact you to remind you that your extension is coming to an end. Your overdraft pricing will revert to our standard pricing. However, we'll provide details of any further support should you need it.
How do you request to extend the temporary arranged overdraft support?
To submit a request to extend the temporary arranged overdraft support, you can fill out our online form. Once we’ve processed your request, we’ll be in touch as soon as possible. This could take up to 7 working days as we’re anticipating a high number of requests, so please bear with us.
If you apply for an extension before our temporary support comes to an end on 29 August 2020, we’ll still process your request. If accepted, the earliest it will start is when we revert back to our standard pricing on 30 August 2020. If you apply in the days directly leading up to 30 August 2020, your additional support may not start on 30 August 2020 as it could take us 7 working days to process your request. Regardless of the start date, everyone who is accepted will get a further 3-months additional support.
To fill out the form, you’ll need your:
- account sort code
- account number
You can find these details on your debit card, statements and the account summary screen in online banking.
If your application is accepted, we’ll apply the additional support to all the arranged overdrafts you have on current accounts with us.
If your overdraft is on a joint account, only one account holder needs to complete the form. However, you should seek the other account holder’s permission before submitting the form.
Once your request has been processed and a decision has been made, we’ll contact you by email, or letter, with an update. We won’t be able to provide this decision over the phone.
Please be aware that if your mailing preference is set to paper correspondence, it could take up to 3 weeks to receive your decision letter. Email updates will be quicker. If you'd prefer to receive updates via email, you can choose this by logging on to your online banking and updating your communication preference. Once you've updated your preference, we’ll use that channel for communications in the future.
Should you need assistance with this form, please call us on 03457 404 404.
What will happen if you don't extend the overdraft support?
On 30 August 2020 we’ll start to apply our full standard overdraft pricing again. The tables below show what we’ll charge for each of our accounts.
| Account |
Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
Interest rate |
|---|---|---|
| Bank Account, Bank Account Pay Monthly, Current Account (off sale) and Advance Bank Account |
£500 |
19.9% EAR variable |
| HSBC Student Account |
Any arranged overdraft borrowing |
0% EAR variable |
| HSBC Graduate Account |
Year 1: £1,500 Year 2: £1,000 |
19.9% EAR variable |
| HSBC Premier Account |
£500 |
11.9% EAR variable |
| HSBC Jade Account |
£1,000 |
9.9% EAR variable |
| Account |
Bank Account, Bank Account Pay Monthly, Current Account (off sale) and Advance Bank Account |
|---|---|
| Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
£500 |
| Interest rate |
19.9% EAR variable |
| Account |
HSBC Student Account |
| Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
Any arranged overdraft borrowing |
| Interest rate |
0% EAR variable |
| Account |
HSBC Graduate Account |
| Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
Year 1: £1,500 Year 2: £1,000 |
| Interest rate |
19.9% EAR variable |
| Account |
HSBC Premier Account |
| Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
£500 |
| Interest rate |
11.9% EAR variable |
| Account |
HSBC Jade Account |
| Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
£1,000 |
| Interest rate |
9.9% EAR variable |
These are temporary measures and not a change to contractual terms, which remain the same.
| Account | Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
Interest rate |
|---|---|---|
| Bank Account, Bank Account Pay Monthly, Current Account (off sale) and Advance Bank Account |
£25 | 39.9% EAR variable |
| HSBC Student Account |
Any arranged overdraft borrowing |
0% EAR variable |
| HSBC Graduate Account |
Year 1: £1,500 Year 2: £1,000 |
39.9% EAR variable |
| HSBC Premier Account |
£500 | 39.9% EAR variable |
| HSBC Jade Account |
£1,000 |
39.9% EAR variable |
| Account |
Bank Account, Bank Account Pay Monthly, Current Account (off sale) and Advance Bank Account |
|---|---|
| Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
£25 |
| Interest rate |
39.9% EAR variable |
| Account |
HSBC Student Account |
| Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
Any arranged overdraft borrowing |
| Interest rate |
0% EAR variable |
| Account |
HSBC Graduate Account |
| Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
Year 1: £1,500 Year 2: £1,000 |
| Interest rate |
39.9% EAR variable |
| Account |
HSBC Premier Account |
| Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
£500 |
| Interest rate |
39.9% EAR variable |
| Account |
HSBC Jade Account |
| Interest-free arranged overdraft amount |
£1,000 |
| Interest rate |
39.9% EAR variable |
Things to know
These rates won’t apply if you have an account with a negotiated rate (where we’ve separately agreed a non-standard rate for your overdraft).
Since 9 April 2020 we’ve also been temporarily not charging for any unarranged overdraft borrowing. However, from 30 August 2020 we’ll start to charge interest on this again, at the standard rate of 39.9% EAR (variable). This will be subject to our Maximum Monthly Charge for unarranged borrowing of £20.
Will this affect your credit rating?
Your credit file will not be impacted if you ask to extend your temporary arranged overdraft support.
If you go into an unarranged overdraft this may adversely affect your credit file. An unarranged overdraft is when your account goes overdrawn and you don’t have an arranged overdraft, or you go over your arranged overdraft limit.
We have to report accounts that have been in a continuous unarranged overdraft for 30 days, or more, to credit reference agencies. This could negatively impact your credit file and your ability to get credit in the future.
Is there more help and advice you can get?
Keep visiting our coronavirus hub to stay up to date.
If you have an HSBC credit card or loan, you may be eligible for a 3-month payment holiday, or repayment deferral.
Find out more about our financial support.
You can also get free independent advice from:
- StepChange Debt Charity: visit the StepChange website or call 0800 138 1111
- Money Advice Service: visit the Money Advice website, its dedicated COVID-19 support page or call 0300 500 5000
- National Debtline: visit the National Debtline website or call 0808 808 4000
- Citizens Advice: visit the Citizens Advice website or call 03 444 111 444
- Financial Conduct Authority: visit its dealing with financial difficulties during coronavirus information page