Table of contents
What information are we likely to request?
How will providing this information benefit and protect me, my business, and HSBC?
What will we do with the information we request from you?
I have been customer for years, why are you asking for this information now?
Why is financial crime suddenly of concern to the Bank?
What does financial crime have to do with me or my business?
Here to protect you today, tomorrow and for the future
In today's increasingly connected world, it's more important than ever to ensure your financial security - especially when it comes to banking. HSBC is committed to the continuous development and maintenance of global processes and systems to better protect you and your accounts against financial crime. That is why we are introducing HSBC Safeguard, a series of initiatives designed to provide enhanced protection for all of our customers.
Information is key to protection
In order to enhance protection, we need the most up-to-date information about all of our customers. This is why we may ask you to do one or all of the following:
✓ confirm or update your existing personal or business details
✓ provide some new information which may include original documents
We understand this may cause some inconvenience, and we are committed to working with you to ensure the process is as simple and straightforward as possible.
What is HSBC Safeguard?
HSBC Safeguard is a series of initiatives to protect your hard-earned money and savings from misuse of the financial system for financial crime. This involves strengthening our ability to combat money laundering and the evasion of sanctions, as these are often the drivers behind financial crimes. We start by ensuring the information we have about you is correct.
You will not have to take any action at the moment. HSBC will be contacting customers on an individual basis to let you know if and when you need to update your information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What information are we likely to request?
If you are a personal banking customer, we are likely to need two types of documents from you: documents to confirm your identity and a document to confirm your residential address. These need to be originals and not copies.
If you are a business customer, the documents we need will depend on the size and nature of your business. Examples of documents we may need include your company's legal entity structure, list of beneficial owner(s), and/or countries you do business with.
How will providing this information benefit and protect me, my business, and HSBC?
As more and more of our customers live, travel and trade internationally, we're always looking for better ways to help you do the things you want to do safely. Our global systems and processes work by sharing data and customer information across borders in order to detect and deter financial crime. Even if you only bank with us in one country, locally, we have a duty to protect all your accounts, as financial crime is a global operation.
By confirming your details and making sure that all the information we hold about you is up-to-date, you can be certain that no one else is able to misuse your account and we only act on genuine requests from you.
What will we do with the information we request from you?
We will use this information solely to protect our customers and the Bank against financial crime. We take our obligation to protect your data very seriously. All the information you provide will be subject to the HSBC Group's highest data and security standards. The intent is only to use this information for your protection and it will NOT be used by any third parties for marketing purposes.
For more information, please feel free to call your Relationship Manager, visit your local Wealth Center, or call us at 800.975.HSBC (4722).
I have been customer for years, why are you asking for this information now?
Financial crime is becoming more sophisticated and globally organized. Now it's even more important we are vigilant in protecting you. It is likely we do hold a lot of this information but we need to ensure it is accurate and current. We may need to capture details that weren't previously required.
What is financial crime?
Financial crime tends to involve money or property that are gained illegally, and used in a deceptive or illegal manner to gain a benefit from the proceeds. In today's complex economy, financial crimes can take many forms including money laundering, sanctions breaches, fraud, tax evasion, terrorist financing, bribery and corruption.
Why is financial crime suddenly of concern to the Bank?
At HSBC, addressing financial crime globally has long been one of our main priorities.
Criminal activity has become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, and fraudsters, money launderers and others have attempted to target global networks like banks. Improving the way we share and manage customer information will help us protect against the risk of financial crime. It is our duty to ensure you can bank with us safely, securely, and confidently.
What does financial crime have to do with me or my business?
As the world becomes increasingly connected and technologically advanced, there are unfortunately greater opportunities for criminals to misuse the financial system. A key defense against money laundering is to prevent accounts being opened with false identities. We also sometimes need to verify where funds come from as part of our ongoing efforts to track our customers' legitimate funds and to protect them from financial crime. Criminals will try to appear to be law abiding citizens or businesses; we need to request certain documents from all of our customers in order to fully protect them and their accounts.
What are Sanctions?
Sanctions are a policy tool that national governments and organizations such as the United Nations and European Union use to constrain and deter perceived threats to their security, or to adapt international conduct to recognized international standards. Sanctions help prevent crimes like terrorism, drug trafficking, and arms dealing by imposing restrictions on the business that banks can do with specific people, corporations or countries. The names of these individuals and entities are clearly listed on documents such as the Office of Foreign Assets (OFAC) sanctions list.
Informational Videos
What is financial crime and why does it concern me?
What sort of information do you need and why do you need it?
Why does HSBC require information about my income and source of wealth?
Why do I need to supply personal information about key controllers and beneficial owners of my business to HSBC?