HSBC Watch News Release Forum Index
Forum Name: - News
Topic Title: HSBC eliminates fees for transfers overseas
Sat Aug 20, 2005 8:38 am
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
BY DIANA RANSOM
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Friday, August 19th, 2005
Immigrants can start waiving adios to fees for sending money back home, courtesy of HSBC. The new service, called Envio Facil or EasySend, offers free money transfers anywhere in the world, but is targeting Hispanics who send an estimated $30 billion home annually.
Instead of paying the typical 4% to 10% in fees with Western Union or MoneyGram, people can now send money for free as long as they keep a minimum balance of $1,500 in their accounts.
Here's how it works: a customer sets up a checking account here that can transfer money, without a fee, into secondary accounts. These accounts can then be accessed outside of the country through linked ATM cards.
Illegal immigrants need not apply. A non-US citizen needs a primary form of identification, like a green card, and a secondary form such as a passport.
The company ultimately hopes to use these EasySend accounts as the "foundation to a relationship," said Mayra DiRico, HSBC's executive vice president and regional president. "We just don't want a customer to open an EasySend account."
The large minimum, however, can be a tough pill for many immigrants to swallow. Victor Siles, 51, of Astoria, Queens used to send his two daughters in Lima, Peru money each week. He said the HSBC offering "is good, but the only thing is the base you have to put in the bank; that is a lot of money."
If a person's account balance falls below the $1,500 minimum, the bank will charge a fee of $8 each month.
Bank of America also plans a no fee service by year-end, a spokeswoman said. Western Union didn't return a call.
We monitor customer trends for possible violations of Regulation Z and other possible illegal actions.