Customers of HSBC's current account designed specifically for new arrivals in the UK, HSBC Passport, will now have access to local knowledge of the UK in their own language, with the introduction of a new 24-hour multilingual advice service.
The relocation advice service is available online or over the phone in six languages – Polish, Spanish, French, Slovak, Czech and English, with plans for more to be added if there is sufficient demand. As part of the service, customers can either speak directly to a representative in their own language or email their enquiries in any language and receive a response in English within 48 hours. However, the multi-language relocation service does not include telephone banking.
The bank also has further plans to provide information about HSBC’s Passport service and application forms online or in-branch on request in 11 languages, namely English, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Chinese, Romanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Russian and Filipino.
Skye MacFarlane, manager of international services at HSBC, said: The popularity of Passport has far exceeded our expectations, and we’re working hard to keep up with demand from this fast-growing customer group. Since launching last June, we have opened more than 35,000 accounts, and, with more than 1,500 migrants arriving in the UK every day, demand will only continue to grow.
Other features of HSBC Passport include a fully-functional current account, allowing standing orders and direct debit services, a guaranteed international debit card that can be used in retail outlets, and discounted international money transfers through the bank’s priority payment system.
Passport is a fixed-term, 12-month account with a subscription fee of GBP60 paid upfront or GBP6 per month. Thereafter, customers can transfer to an account that best suits their needs from HSBC’s range of current accounts.