Advance Account
Conditions of Use
The use of the Advance Account is governed at all times by:
i. these Advance Account Terms and Conditions (consisting of Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, as applicable);
ii. the General Terms and Conditions – Accounts (the “General Terms”), in case you are a consumer in terms of the Consumer Affairs Act (Chapter 378 of the Laws of Malta) or a micro-enterprise as defined in paragraph 3 of the Business Promotion Regulations, 2000; or the General Terms and Conditions (Corporate Opt-Out) – Accounts, in case you are a non-micro-enterprise (i.e. you exceed the conditions for qualification as a micro-enterprise in terms of paragraph 3 of the Business Promotion Regulations, 2000); and
iii. all other terms and conditions governing the relevant transactions, dealings, services, products, information, goods, benefits or privileges, together hereinafter referred to as the “Terms”.
Conditions of Use
Part 1
In these terms and conditions ‘HSBC Advance Proposition’ refers to the HSBC Advance package consisting of the HSBC Advance Account (which refers to any savings or current account you hold with us), HSBC Advance Credit Card, HSBC Advance Quikcash Card, HSBC Advance International Debit Card and any other card issued in the future which bears the same, similar or enhanced characteristics of the cards named herein as well as any ancillary benefits which may exist from time to time.
1. Fee: The ‘HSBC Advance
Proposition’ carries a monthly fee. This fee will be debited monthly from any of your savings or current accounts held with us. In case you wish that we debit this monthly fee from a particular account, you are to inform us accordingly. Details of the Advance Proposition fee can be found on the Advance Proposition application form or can be obtained from any one of our branches or on our dedicated website.
2. Administration Charge: In the
event that your Advance status is withdrawn or terminated either by you or by the Bank we will charge an Administration fee of €10.00 per quarter if the average of the combined balances of your savings and current accounts
does not exceed €200 during the previous quarter. New customers will be exempt from this charge for the first 6 months from the date on which they become customers of HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. When applicable, the charge will be applied to any of your current or savings account immediately after the end of the previous quarter. Customers who hold any of the following accounts or products in their name, or jointly with others, are exempted from this charge:
a. any type of Term Deposit
account including, Bonus accounts, Equity Linked Deposits Accounts (ELDA), Annual Income Deposit
Accounts (AIDA) and Bonus Plus Account;
b. ATM accounts;
c. student accounts, minor
accounts, graduate accounts and Karus accounts;
d. treasurer accounts and
philanthropic accounts;
e. any type of borrowing facility,
including any type of loan, overdraft and Home Loan;
f. Credit Cards (Main Account
holder only);
g. any holdings of HSBC Global
Asset Management (Malta) Limited; or
h. any holding, policy or plan with
HSBC Life Assurance (Malta) Limited.
If an account is closed within 6 months from the date it was opened an administration charge of €10.00 will be levied.
3. Term & Termination: The HSBC
Advance Proposition and any of the Terms applicable to the HSBC Advance Proposition have an initial fixed term of 12 months from the date we first provide the HSBC Advance Proposition to you. They are renewable monthly after this time. A monthly fee applies to this service and you agree that we may debit the applicable monthly fee for the HSBC Advance Proposition from your HSBC Advance Account each month for the fixed 12 month period. After the end of such 12 month period you agree that we can continue to debit the applicable monthly fee unless you tell us you no longer require the HSBC Advance Proposition. For the purposes of this clause a “month” means the period covered by your monthly charging period which is usually the same as your monthly statement period. You have the right to cancel the HSBC Advance Proposition for a period of 14 days after the date we open your HSBC Advance Account. You can do this by
writing to us at: HSBC Bank Malta plc, Personal Financial Services Centre, 1st Floor, Mill Street, Qormi, QRM 3101, Attn: Manager HSBC Advance, or via Internet Banking. For applications completed by telephone, the cancellation period will start from the date you receive the Terms applicable to the HSBC Advance Proposition in the post. Any monthly fees you have already paid will be refunded to you proportionately up to the date of termination and no future fees for the HSBC Advance Proposition will be deducted.
a. Within the first 14 days from
opening of the HSBC Advance Account or from receiving the Terms applicable to the HSBC Advance Proposition, whichever is the latest; or following the lapse of the initial fixed term of 12 months, you may decide to terminate the entire HSBC Advance Proposition by giving us one month prior notice in writing addressed to the Manager Advance at HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., PO BOX 25, Qormi, QRM 3101, or by sending a secure message through Internet Banking, or by going into one of our branches. You must destroy any unused cheques and all cards bearing the Advance mark
by cutting them through the magnetic stripe appearing at the back. Any such termination will bring to an end these Advance Account Terms & Conditions as well as the Terms in so far as they apply to the HSBC Advance proposition. In case of cancellation/termination of the HSBC Advance Proposition, no charge for cancellation/ termination will be levied by us, provided you are a ‘consumer’ in terms of the Consumer Affairs Act (Chapter 378 of the Laws of Malta).
b. In the event that your HSBC
Advance status is withdrawn or terminated either by you or by the Bank, any benefits enjoyed under the HSBC Advance proposition will be revoked. Immediately upon any such withdrawal, any preferential discount on interest rate granted on loans and other credit facilities as a result of such status, if any, will also be revoked and changed to the standard retail interest rate quoted on the sanction letter.
Part 2
HSBC Advance Account: Current Account Terms & Conditions
The terms used in these Current Account Terms and Conditions, unless defined herein or the context otherwise requires, shall bear the same meaning assigned to them in the General Terms.
1. Interest: The Current Account does
not attract credit interest. Debit interest due is calculated on a daily basis and is debited to the account twice annually towards the end of March and September. Interest will be charged at such rates and on such terms and conditions, as listed in the General Terms. The current rates are available on our website, by telephoning us, by looking at the Bank’s General Tariff or by asking a member of staff at any of our branches. When we change the interest rates on your account, we will update this information within three working days.
2. Deposits of local cheques: We
treat other local bank cheques (apart from Central bank cheques) as being cleared for interest calculation purposes 2 working days after they have been deposited into an account (e.g. on Wednesday if paid in on a Monday). If you withdraw money which is not cleared for interest calculation purposes, you may be charged interest even though your account shows a credit balance.
3. Uncleared Effects: cheques
deposited into the account are sent for payment to the bank/ branch on which they are drawn. Until such time that these cheques are honoured, they are treated as “uncleared effects” even if deposited in the branch where the drawer’s account is domiciled. No withdrawals may be made against such “uncleared effects” unless specifically authorised by the branch management. Deposited cheques, which are subsequently returned unpaid, will be debited to the account and returned to the account holder to take the necessary action. We reserve the right to levy a charge when an immediate withdrawal from the account is effected following a deposit of uncleared effects.
4. NIL balances: If account has a nil
balance for more than 90 days, we shall have the option to close the account. However, we will give you two months’ written notice of this before we close the account.
5. Overdrafts: May be available on
an account with our prior express agreement.
6. Transactions on the account:
Accounts may be operated by issuing cheques and by withdrawing funds from any of our branches. Withdrawals from branches, other than that at which the account is domiciled, are subject to branch management discretion. The account may also be operated using our Phone Banking and Internet Banking services as well as by using a Quikcash card. Deposits into an account may be undertaken at any of our branches or via an ATM. Certain transactions are subject to specific terms and conditions, copies of which are obtainable upon request.
7. Cheques and Chequebooks:
Cheques should never be signed in blank. We only issue stop payments in respect of cheques which have been declared by the account holder as being lost or stolen. Such a declaration has to be provided in writing. Account holders should not issue post-dated cheques. Should a post-dated cheque be presented at any of our branches, the account-holder cannot hold us liable for any damages suffered, whether the cheques are honoured or returned unpaid. Customer has to take reasonable precautions to prevent forgeries of his/her cheques by third parties. Cheques are considered
valid for six months. We reserve the right at our discretion not to honour cheques presented for payment after a period of six months. Should a cheque need any alteration, the account holder’s full signature(s) next to the alteration(s) is required. Cheques are transferable by simple endorsement. It is not possible for the drawer to limit the transferability of cheques by crossing cheques as “a/c payee”, “not negotiable”, “only” or employing similar words. Limiting the payment of cheques to the payee shall not stop the endorsement of any such cheque and the Bank will honour payment to any endorsee, if an endorsement has been made, and will debit your account accordingly. Additional chequebooks may be ordered at any branch, via an ATM and through the Phone Banking and Internet Banking services.
8. Account Designated ‘Clients’ Account’: Where you choose to
open an account in your name but with the designation ‘Clients’ Account’, any funds held in such account so designated shall be deemed to be yours personally, unless you provide us with a signed written declaration to the effect that the monies held by you in such account are held under
fiduciary obligations in terms of the provisions of the Civil Code (Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta) and are not therefore subject to the claims or rights of your personal creditors, spouse or heirs at law.
9. Overrunning: Overrunning refers
to the circumstance when you exceed the available credit balance or credit limit on an account without our express consent. We have the right not to honour payments and/or cheques which may cause an account to be overrun without our prior express agreement. Any such cheques will be returned to the presenter and/ or depositor and a fee, to cover our administrative costs, will be levied. Unless specifically agreed by the branch management you should not withdraw, transfer, make payments or issue cheques for, an amount which is not available in the account. We reserve the right to withdraw, at our sole discretion, any chequebook and any debit or credit card if an overrunning position is not corrected when advised to do so by us.
In instances where, at our sole discretion, the account is allowed to be overrun, an administrative fee will be charged per month or part thereof. Debit interest will
also be charged on the daily debit balance at the rate shown on the statement of account. Details of the administrative fee applicable can be obtained from the Bank’s General Tariff available in our branches, from our website or by contacting us on 2380 2380. For interest calculation purposes, the daily debit balance is the balance on the account net of “uncleared effects”. Interest will be charged on daily debit balances and will be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days. Any changes to the debit interest rate or administrative fee to be applied in case of overrun accounts will be notified as advised in clause 5 to 7 of Part D of Section 1 of the General Terms.
10. Language: These terms and
conditions are also available in the Maltese Language.
Part 3
HSBC Advance Account: Savings Account Terms & Conditions
The terms used in these Savings Account Terms and Conditions, unless defined herein or the context otherwise requires, shall bear the same meaning assigned to them in the General Terms.
1. Interest: Is calculated on a daily
basis and is credited/debited to the account annually towards the end of December. Interest will be allowed/ charged at such rates and on such terms and conditions, as listed in the General Terms. The current rates are available on our website, by telephoning us, by looking at the Bank’s General Tariff or by asking a member of staff at any of our branches. When we change the interest rates on your account, we will update this information within three working days.
2. Deposits of local cheques: We
treat other local bank cheques (apart from Central bank cheques) as being cleared for interest calculation purposes 2 working days after they have been deposited into an account (e.g. on Wednesday if paid in on a Monday). If you withdraw money which is not cleared for interest calculation purposes, you may be charged interest even though your account shows a credit balance.
3. Uncleared Effects: cheques
deposited into the account are sent for payment to the bank/ branch on which they are drawn. Until such time that these cheques are honoured, they are treated as “uncleared effects” even if deposited in the branch where the drawer’s account is domiciled. No withdrawals may be made against such “uncleared effects” unless specifically authorised by the branch management. Deposited cheques, which are subsequently returned unpaid, will be debited to the account and returned to the account holder to take the necessary action. We reserve the right to levy a charge when an immediate withdrawal from the account is effected following a deposit of uncleared effects.
4. NIL balances: If account has a nil
balance for more than 90 days, we shall have the option to close the account. However, we will give you two months’ written notice of this before we close the account.
5. Withdrawals and other
transactions: Withdrawals of any
amount, subject to funds being available on the account, may be undertaken at any of our branches. However, withdrawals from branches other than that at which the account is domiciled are subject to branch management discretion. The account holder may not withdraw more funds than the amount of cleared funds available in the account.
Certain transactions are subject to specific terms and conditions, copies of which are obtainable upon request.
6. Account Designated ‘Clients’ Account’: Where you choose to
open an account in your name but with the designation ‘Clients’ Account’, any funds held in such account so designated shall be deemed to be yours personally, unless you provide us with a signed written declaration to the effect that the monies held by you in such account are held under fiduciary obligations in terms of the provisions of the Civil Code (Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta) and are not therefore subject to the claims or rights of your personal creditors, spouse or heirs at law.
7. Overrunning: Overrunning refers to
the circumstance when you exceed the available credit balance on your account without our express consent. We have the right not to honour payments and/or cheques which may cause an account to be overrun without our prior express agreement. Any such cheques will be returned to the presenter and/ or depositor and a fee, to cover our administrative costs, will be levied. Unless specifically agreed by the branch management you should not withdraw, transfer, make payments or issue cheques for, an amount which is not available in the account. We reserve the right to withdraw, at our sole discretion, any chequebook and any debit or credit card if an overrunning position is not corrected when advised to do so by us.
In instances where, at our sole discretion, the account is allowed to be overrun, an administrative fee will be charged per month or part thereof. Debit interest will also be charged on the daily debit balance at the rate shown on the statement of account. Details of the administrative fee applicable can be obtained from the Bank’s General Tariff available in our branches, from our website or by contacting us on
2380 2380. For interest calculation purposes, the daily debit balance is the balance on the account net of “uncleared effects”. Interest will be charged on daily debit balances and will be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days. Any changes to the debit interest rate or administrative fee to be applied in case of overrun accounts will be notified as advised in clause 5 to 7 of Part D of Section 1 of the General Terms.
8. Language: These terms and
conditions are also available in the Maltese Language.
HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. is a member of the HSBC Group, one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations with more than 6,600 offices in 80 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa.
Approved and issued by HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c.,
116, Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT1444 www.hsbc.com.mt/advance
Customer Service 2148 9101 08/182 79318-09/2013 Design by BPC.
