Account Terms and ConditionsEffective from 1 October 2015

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Contents

Page

Charges 2Payments out of your account 2

Payments into your account 3

Other charges 4

Overdrafts 4

Product Summaries 61st Account 6

Savings Accounts Summaries 7Regular Saver Account 7

Savings Account 8

Bonus Savings Account 9

Everyday e-Saver 9

Fixed Rate Savings Bond

(Fixed Rate Savings) 10

e-Savings Account 11

Everyday Savings Account 11

Important things in our Terms you should be particularly aware of 12Payments 12

Set-off 12

Joint accounts 12

Changing the Terms 13

Closing your account 13

Security 13

Page

General Terms 141. Protecting your account 14

2. Making payments 15

3. Making payments to other

UK accounts 18

4. Your debit card 21

5. International payments 24

6. Cheques you write 26

7. Payments into your account 27

8. Cheques you receive 28

9. What happens if things go wrong 30

10. Joint accounts 32

11. Balance information

and statements 33

12. Changes and how we’ll tell you

about them 34

13. Closing your account 36

14. Set-off 37

15. Tax on credit interest 38

16. Overdrafts 39

17. Text Alerts 40

18. Internet Banking 40

19. Text Message Banking 41

20. Contacting you 42

21. Your information 43

22. Actions we take to prevent

Financial Crime 45

23. Account transfers 47

24. General 47

25. Extra time 47

26. The law that applies to these

Terms 47

27. Complaints 48

Glossary 49

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Charges

The charges you’ll pay will depend on how much you use your account. Please refer to the ‘Give

me the facts’ brochure for details about which payments can be made from which accounts.

These charges will be deducted from your account when you ask for the service.

We may charge for all enquiries we receive about a payment unless we’ve made a mistake, but will tell

you what the charge is before we start investigating.

For international payments, the recipient’s bank, and any foreign bank we may use to send the

payment, may also make a charge. You’ll only have to pay these charges if you choose “sender to

pay all charges” when you request your payment.

Payment Types Telephone

Banking

Internet

Banking

Post

Payments within the UKElectronic Fund Transfers £25 n/a £25

Payments overseasSEPA Payments £4 n/a £4

Priority Payments To another first direct

or HSBC account

£10 n/a £10

To non-first direct or

non-HSBC accounts

£25 n/a £25

Non-sterling debit card payments (includes cash withdrawals)

If we convert the payment to sterling for you, we’ll use the Visa Payment Scheme Exchange Rate

that applies on the day we carry out the conversion together with a Non-Sterling Transaction Fee of

2.75% of the sterling amount of the payment.

You can get details of the Visa Payment Scheme Exchange Rate by calling us on 03 456 100 100

(Text-phone 03 456 100 147) or +44 113 234 5678 (Text Relay +44 151 494 1260) from outside

the UK, (or by visiting the card support section of our website at

www.firstdirect.com/1/2/tools-and-guides/using-your-debit-card-abroad)

Request for bank draft £20 each

Payments out of your account

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Cash machine withdrawals

We’ll charge a Non-Sterling Cash Fee of 2% (minimum £1.75, maximum £5) for:

UK where we carry out the currency conversion; and

This fee doesn’t apply to withdrawals by First Directory customers.

Some cash machine owners may apply a charge for withdrawals. They should tell you about this on

the screen before you make the cash withdrawal.

Payments into your account

Non-sterling electronic payments Payments of over £100 £8 each

Sterling electronic payments from banks outside the UKPayments of £100 or more £6 each

If the payment is made in sterling we will deduct the above charge from the amount of the payment

before we credit it to your account. If the payment is non-sterling we will credit the full amount of the

payment to your account and then deduct the charge separately.

We’ll not charge for payments of up to EUR 50,000 or 500,000 Swedish Krona from a country in the

EU provided the relevant BIC and IBAN numbers are provided with the payment.

Foreign Cheques

We can either negotiate or collect foreign cheques to be paid into your account. Please see the section on “Foreign cheques” on page 29 for more details.

Charge per cheque for negotiation and collection Up to £250 £7

Over £250 0.5% (minimum £10, maximum £50)

Return fee £10

In addition to our fees, any fees charged by our agent and/or correspondent banks and/or the bank

on which the foreign cheque is drawn will also be deducted from your account.

Euro DraftsAll Euro drafts (drawn on banks in the UK) £100 and over

£20

All Euro drafts (drawn on banks in the UK) under £100

£15

Cancelling an international or Euro Bank Draft

£10 each

Posting a warning on a lost or stolen international or Euro Bank Draft

£10 each plus any charges made by banks on which foreign drafts are drawn

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Other charges

Overdrafts

Paper statements for eSaver and Everyday eSavings Accounts

£2.50 per statement

Interim statements (charges per month):

Additional monthly/3 weekly

Fortnightly

Weekly

Daily

£1

£2

£4.50

£20

Cancelling a bank draft £10 each

Posting a warning on a lost or stolen bank draft

£10 each, plus any charges made by banks on

which foreign drafts are drawn

Special presentation of a cheque £10 each

Stopping a cheque £7 for cheques of £10 and above

No charge for stopping stolen cheques or lost blank

cheques

Branch payment cheque (drawn on savings accounts)

£10.00

Autotransfers (only available for existing Autotransfer customers from 1 November 2007)

Cost dependent on your requirements – please ask

us for details

Status enquiry (including VAT) £10.72 each

Original request for a UK bank draft £20 each

If you usually receive statements electronically and you request a paper copy of your statement, you

will not incur a charge unless you request more than one paper copy of a statement.

Overdrafts are only available on 1st Accounts. Overdrafts are a short-term way to borrow money on

your account. Overdrafts are subject to status. You must not borrow on savings accounts.

Overdraft Interest

Whenever the overdrawn balance in your 1st Account exceeds £250, we’ll charge you Overdraft

Interest. Our current Overdraft Interest rate is 15.9% EAR (Effective Annual Rate) variable.

If your 1st Account is linked to an Offset Mortgage, we’ll charge Overdraft Interest at your offset rate

on the entire overdrawn balance on your account (even the first £250).

Representative Example

If you use a formal overdraft with a limit of £1,200, the Overdraft Interest rate will be 0% EAR for the

first £250 and 15.9% EAR variable for the remainder.

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Overdraft charges

In addition to any Overdraft Interest that applies on your 1st Account, we’ll charge you an Informal

Overdraft Usage Fee on any day your 1st Account is in informal overdraft. An informal overdraft

happens when we agree to lend you money to cover a payment from your account and either:

We won’t charge a daily Informal Overdraft Usage Fee if:

We won’t charge:

been in informal overdraft during a charging month; or

overdraft charge or interest has been deducted.

A charging month normally starts on the day in the month you originally opened your account unless

we’ve agreed otherwise with you.

If there is a failure in the switching process we will refund any charges or interest you’ve paid to us, and

if you are a Northern Ireland customer your old bank should refund any charges or interest you’ve paid

to them. If you are a Northern Ireland customer and you use our switching service we will offer you an

interest and charge-free overdraft for three months from the date that you open your account with us,

subject to our usual credit assessment criteria.

Subject to the Terms, we can, at any time, end your overdraft and ask for it to be repaid immediately.

We can also ask you to repay part of your overdrawn balance at any time. If we end or reduce your

overdraft this will usually be because of a change in your personal circumstances. Please see the

section “When you have to repay your overdraft” on page 39.

Our current Informal Overdraft Usage Fee is £5 a day.

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1st Account

Price:

but this isn’t charged:

first direct accounts don’t count);

divided by the number of days in the month) is more than £1,000. This does not include the

balance on any other 1st Account(s) you hold with us;

first direct mortgage, credit card, personal loan, savings account (not

including our Regular Saver Account), First Directory or first direct car or home

insurance policy;

and another one jointly with someone else, these accounts are not in the same name. If you

have joint accounts with different people, these accounts are not in the same name; or

than £10.

Account Features:

service machines and by post. You can withdraw cash and pay in cash and cheques at HSBC

and Post Office® branches. You can also check your balance at Post Office® branches.

first direct savings accounts to help build

up your savings. This means that once a month (whichever date you prefer) we can automatically

sweep up any money you haven’t spent from your 1st Account into any eligible first direct savings

account (see below).

Eligibility:

Product SummariesThe product summaries set out the key details of each account covered by the first direct Account

Terms and Conditions (Terms). At the end of each summary we’ve included any terms and conditions

that are specific to that product. The product summaries form part of the Terms. You should read

the product summary for the account(s) you’re applying for, or already hold, carefully together with

the rest of the Terms, the charges information in this booklet, the product brochure, the “Give me the

facts” brochure, the Savings Interest Rates insert (savings products only) and all other information

we give you when you apply for your account(s). You can ask us for additional copies of these

documents at any time.

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Savings Accounts Summaries

Regular Saver Account

Account Features:

Transfer from your 1st Account to open your account.

up to the Maximum Monthly Balance (see below).

your Standing Order.

second tier rate applicable to the Savings Account.

balance will be transferred to another first direct savings account.

you have with us.

Eligibility:

first direct 1st Account when you apply and you must continue to hold the

1st Account for as long as you have this account.

Regular Saver terms and conditions:

1 We calculate interest daily on the cleared balance and pay it on the anniversary of the account

opening.

2 You must continue to hold your 1st Account for as long as you have your Regular Saver Account.

If you don’t, we may close your Regular Saver Account. If you give us notice to close your 1st

Account, we will take this as notice to close your Regular Saver Account. We will pay money

from your Regular Saver Account (including interest) into your 1st Account before we close the

accounts.

3 If you are switching your 1st Account using the Current Account Switch Service, and your 1st

Account is in credit on the day the switch takes place, we will pay money from your Regular

Saver Account (including interest) into your 1st Account. It will then be sent to your new current

account with any other funds in your 1st Account. If your 1st Account is in debit on the day

the switch takes place, we will close your Regular Saver Account on the working day after

the switch takes place and we will use the money from your Regular Saver Account to repay

the debt. We will then send any remaining money to you. If your Regular Saver is closed in

these circumstances, we will pay you interest up to the date of closure at the second tier rate

applicable to the Savings Account.

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4 Once a month you must make a Standing Order from your 1st Account into your Regular Saver

Account. This must be made each month on the same day that you opened your Regular Saver

Account or the next Working Day. You can only make this one Standing Order payment into your

Regular Saver Account in any one month and no other payments.

5 You can save between £25 and £300 into your Regular Saver Account each month up to a

maximum total of £3,600. If your regular payments are less than £300, you can carry your

allowance over and pay more in later months.

6 If you save more than the Maximum Monthly Balance, you will earn interest on the excess amount at

the second tier rate applicable to the Savings Account.

7 Your account will mature and close automatically on the first anniversary (365 days) after you

opened it. You will receive a closing statement by post when your account closes.

8 If you have one of the following first direct accounts (or any account we replace them with) in

the same name as your Regular Saver Account, your money and any accrued interest will be

transferred to that account:

(a) Everyday e-Saver

(b) Savings Account

If you have both of these accounts we will transfer your money to the one with the highest

interest rate at the time. If you do not have any of the above accounts with us your account will

be converted into a new Savings Account (or any account we replace it with) in the same name

as your Regular Saver Account. It can take up to 5 Working Days for the account to convert and

during that time you will earn interest on your money at the rate applicable to the new account.

You will also have access to your money through telephone banking.

9 You can close your account at any time by calling us, writing to us or by using Internet Banking.

If you close your account before the first anniversary of the date you opened it we will pay you

interest up to the date of closure at the second tier rate applicable to the Savings Account. We will

pay your money (including any interest) into your 1st Account unless you advise us to pay it into a

savings account with us.

Savings Account

Account Features:

first direct account.

Eligibility:

first direct 1st Account.

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Bonus Savings Account

Account Features:

first direct account.

Eligibility:

Bonus Savings Account terms and conditions:

If you do not close, or make a withdrawal from your Bonus Savings Account during a calendar

month your interest rate for that month will be ‘with bonus’. If you do close, or make a withdrawal

from your Bonus Savings Account during a calendar month, your interest rate for that month will

be ‘without bonus’.

Everyday e-Saver

Account Features:

first direct account.

Eligibility:

Everyday e-Saver terms and conditions:

1 We may send any communication relating to your account by secure e-message. You must

access Internet Banking to check your secure e-messages and balance regularly and at least

once every 30 days.

2 If you have no other first direct accounts, you are allowed to set up a single payment beneficiary

or request a cheque to access your funds.

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Fixed Rate Savings Bond (Fixed Rate Savings)Account Features:

must be for £2,000 or above.

to each particular issue of the Bond).

specific Bond issue.

before the end of the Fixed Term for a fee of £100.

(or equivalent account if the Savings Account is no longer on sale at the end of the Fixed Term) for

you and will pay your initial deposit and interest into that account.

representative(s). If the deposit is made in joint names, we will only make repayment to the

surviving depositor(s) or the personal representative(s) of the last survivor.

hold with us.

Eligibility:

first direct 1st Account when you apply and you must continue to hold the 1st

Account for as long as you have the Bond.

us. We will only accept cleared funds to open a Fixed Rate Savings Bond. If you do not have

cleared funds in the account you are transferring funds from, when we receive and process your

application form, we will not be able to open the Fixed Rate Savings Bond. If funds will clear after

the start date of a particular issue then you will not be able to participate in that issue.

held in the same joint names and you apply through telephone banking. If you apply using Internet

Banking you can only open the Bond in your sole name.

that particular issue which will be set out in the issue’s Information Sheet.

Fixed Rate Savings Bond terms and conditions:

1 You must continue to hold your 1st Account for as long as you have your Bond. If you don’t we

may close your Bond.

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e-Savings Account (no longer on sale)

Account Features:

first direct account.

Everyday Savings Account (no longer on sale)

Account Features:

first direct account.

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Important things in our Terms you should be particularly aware of

Payments

In certain situations (set out on page 16) we may not make payments from your account. These

include if you don’t have enough money or in the case of the 1st Account you do not have an

overdraft to cover the payment, or if we reasonably consider there’s a security or fraud risk on your

account or on the device you’ve used to request a payment through Internet Banking or our Banking

on the go App.

If a payment doesn’t reach a Recipient because you gave us incorrect information we are not

responsible for this but we’ll try and help you trace the payment. For full Terms about this see page 31.

You should carefully check your statements as soon as you get them for payments you don’t

recognise and tell us about any errors within 13 months. For full Terms about this see page 30.

In some situations you may be responsible for unauthorised payments from your account; for

example, if you’ve acted fraudulently or haven’t kept your card (if you have one), Security Devices or

Security Details safe. Full Terms about who’s responsible for any unauthorised payments from your

account are on page 31.

Full terms about how cheques clear are on page 28. You’ll usually be able to withdraw the amount of

a cheque you’ve paid into your account three Working Days later. However, a cheque can be returned

unpaid after this time, meaning the money will be taken back out of your account. Most cheques can’t

be returned unpaid more than six Working Days after you’ve paid them in.

Set-off

If you owe us money on one account (for example an overdraft, mortgage or credit card) and you hold

money in another account (for example a savings account) we can use that money in accordance with

the Terms to repay your debt. We’ll provide you with information about set-off before we do this. For

the full Terms on set-off see page 37.

Joint Accounts

We’ll accept instructions from any joint account holder unless you’ve told us not to or we’re aware of a

dispute between you.

Each joint account holder is responsible for all payments and withdrawals made and any overdraft on

the account. For the full Terms that apply to joint accounts see page 32.

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Changing the Terms

We can change any of our charges, interest rates, account eligibility criteria and other terms and

conditions for certain reasons. In most cases we’ll tell you about changes in advance. For full

Terms about changes we may make and the reasons we can make changes see page 34

Closing your Account

In certain limited situations, we can close your accounts immediately; for example, if you’ve

seriously or persistently broken these Terms, or if we reasonably consider that if we continue to

keep your account open we’ll be breaking the law. In addition, we can close all products governed

by these Terms by giving you at least two months’ notice. See page 36 for full Terms about closing

your account.

Security

You must keep your card (if you have one), Security Devices and Security Details safe and secure at

all times and let us know as soon as possible if they’re lost or stolen. If you don’t do this, you may be

responsible for unauthorised payments made from your account. See page 31 for full Terms.

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General TermsNo one else apart from you, us and, if you’ve a joint account, any joint account holder, will have any

rights under these Terms.

You must not use your account for business purposes.

If you want to authorise another person to operate your account you must sign a third party mandate.

You’ll be responsible for the actions of that person when they operate your account as if they were

your own.

1. Protecting your account

You must take all reasonable precautions to keep any cards, Security Devices, Security Details

(including PINs, security numbers, passwords or other details including those which allow you to use

Internet Banking and telephone banking) safe and to prevent fraudulent use of them.

If you use our Text Message Banking Service, you must also keep your mobile telephone safe and

prevent anyone else accessing your confidential information.

Examples of how to do this are in the Give me the facts brochure. You must read through these

carefully and make sure you follow them.

We’ll ask you to help us, and the police, with any investigation into the suspected misuse of your card (if

you have one), Security Details or Security Device.

If your card (if you have one), Security Device or Security Details have been lost or stolen or you suspect someone has used or tried to use them, you must call us straightaway on one

of the numbers below. All lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

To help us continually improve our services and in the interests of security we

may monitor and/or record your telephone calls with us.

From the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 03 456 100 100

From abroad +44 113 234 5678

Textphone/Text Relay

From the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 03 456 100 147

From abroad +44 151 494 1260

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2. Making payments

How you can ask us to make an electronic payment from your account

Internet Banking and our Banking on the go App – you need to log in, enter your username,

enter the security information we ask for and the payment details. You then need to confirm this

information is correct – this is your agreement for us to make the payment.

Telephone banking – you need to call one of the telephone numbers on the back page of these

Terms and provide the security information we ask for and the payment details. We’ll repeat the

payment information to you and you’ll need to confirm it’s correct - this is your agreement for us to

make the payment.

HSBC Self-service machines – if you have a debit card you can use it to pay in cash and

cheques, check your balance and make cash withdrawals.

Post – you can send a letter to us at the address on the back page of these Terms. You must include

all the payment details and sign the letter – this is your agreement for us to make the payment.

Which of the above methods you can use varies by the type of payment – see the “Give me the facts”

brochure for details.

For the payment details that we require please see the “Payment information required from you”

section below.

We may change the security information we ask you to provide to help prevent fraud.

When we’ll make payments

We’ll make a payment from your account if you authorise it in accordance with these Terms and:

or

There may be a delay in carrying out your instructions while fraud prevention checks take place.

If you ask us to make a payment in the future, one of the above conditions must be met at the start of

the day the payment is due to be made (i.e. 00.01am).

For future-dated Bill Payments, Standing Orders and sterling Direct Debits, we’ll still make a payment

due to be made on a Working Day (and won’t recall a Direct Debit payment we’ve already made that

day) if, before 3.30pm that day:

If the payment is due to be made on a non-Working Day, we’ll make the payment if you meet the

above requirements on the next Working Day.

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We’ll take into consideration all payments due to be made, or that we’ve agreed to make, that day

when we decide whether there’s a sufficient available balance to make a particular payment.

We’ll decide which payments to make if it isn’t possible to make them all. We’ll try to use as much of

the available balance in your account as possible.

When we won’t make payments

We won’t make a payment (and won’t be responsible for any loss to you) if:

payment through Internet Banking or our Banking on the go App;

bank doesn’t accept the types of payment we can make).

Occasionally, for fraud prevention purposes, we may have to contact you to re-confirm some

payments (for example high value payments) or ask for additional security information. If we leave

a message asking you to contact us, you must do so as soon as possible. We’ll decline payment

requests made through telephone banking or Internet Banking if you don’t call us back. We’ll

usually make card payments provided there’s no reason for us to think other transactions on your

account are suspicious.

If we don’t make one of your payments

For Standing Orders, Direct Debits and cheques – we’ll let you know in writing when we don’t

make a payment.

For other payments – we’ll either tell you when you ask us to make the payment or make details

available to you immediately after we’ve made the decision not to make the payment.

In all instances, you can call us for details of the reason(s) why we haven’t made a payment and the

procedure for correcting any factual errors that lead to it not being made. This information will be

available immediately.

Occasionally, we may be unable to let you know that we haven’t made a payment and why for fraud

prevention or security reasons.

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General payments conditions

All payment types can be made from our 1st Account.

You can’t make Standing Order and Direct Debit payments from savings accounts. Please see the

individual product summaries for payments that can be made from each account.

See the “Give me the facts” brochure for details of the types of payment that can be made and how

you can ask us to make them.

The payment systems we use to send domestic electronic payments use the Recipient’s sort code

and account number. The Recipient’s bank may only use these details when applying the payment to

the Recipient’s account. You must make sure you give us the correct sort code and account number;

if you don’t, it’s unlikely your payment will reach the intended Recipient even if you have the Recipient’s

name correct.

We’ll only process payments into your account using the sort code and account number or bank

identifier code (BIC) and international bank account number (IBAN) (or national bank code and/or

national account number if applicable).

We may set limits on payment amounts which we’ll make available to you when you ask us to make a

payment. We may also set internal limits for security purposes, but won’t make these available to you.

If a Bill Payment or Standing Order made through the faster payments service has been made into your account by mistake:

Who's made the mistake?

What we'll do When we'll do it When we'll tell you

The bank that has

made the payment

to your account

We may deduct* the

payment from your account

and return it.

Up to 17 Working

Days after the

payment has been

made into your

account.

As soon as we can,

unless this would

compromise our

reasonable security

measures or it’s

unlawful to do so.A customer of

another bank has

paid money into your

account by mistake.

1. We may deduct*

the payment from your

account and return it if

we reasonably believe it

has been made into your

account by mistake; or

2. We may prevent you

from using the amount of

the disputed payment if

we reasonably believe it

has been made into your

account by mistake whilst

we investigate further.

Up to 10 Working

Days after the

payment has been

made into your

account.

* we won’t deduct payments from accounts which don’t allow withdrawals, e.g. Everyday e-Saver;

or if the deduction would take the account overdrawn and our overdraft service is not available.

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In all other situations and for all other payment types, we’ll contact you for your instructions.

If a payment is made into your account as a result of fraud we can deduct it from your account at

any time.

If we deduct a payment from your 1st Account and this leads to your account either:

we’ll treat this as an informal overdraft request from you.

Suspension of payment facilities

We can ask you to return your card (if you have one) to us or suspend your use of your card (if you

have one), telephone banking or Internet Banking if we think it’s necessary because:

account; or

reasonable period of time.

We’ll usually give you advance notice of any suspension and tell you why. However, we won’t

do so if this would compromise our reasonable security measures or it’s unlawful to do this.

Occasionally we may not be able to contact you to give you advance notice.

You can ask us to lift any suspension once the reason for it has ended by calling us.

3. Making payments to other UK accounts

You can make internal transfers, Bill Payments, Standing Orders, Direct Debits and electronic funds

transfers from your account to other accounts in the UK. You can also use Priority Payments to

make payments to UK account in non-UK currencies.

You can ask us to make automatic internal transfers (Automatic Transfers) between certain first direct accounts (including joint accounts). You must tell us when and how often you want us to make

Automatic Transfers. We will make Automatic Transfers at the close of business each day (usually

after 11pm).

Sterling electronic payments to accounts in the UK will be Internal Transfers and Electronic Fund

Transfers. See the Account Features in the individual product summaries to check which types of

payments you can make from your account.

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Payment information required from you

1. The sort code and account number of the account you’re making a payment to. These are the

details we require to identify the Recipient’s account.

2. The date you want us to make the payment.

3. The name of the person/organisation you’re paying.

4. The amount of the payment.

5. Any reference.

6. The reason for the payment if we ask for it.

If you do not have the sort code and account number but have made a payment to the Recipient

within the last 13 months and we have set their information on your account, then we can make the

payment without this information with your agreement.

In addition, for Standing Orders, you need to tell us how often you want the payment to be made and

for how long. The above doesn’t apply to Direct Debits, which you set up directly with the person/

organisation you’re paying.

Payment type How long it takes the payment to reach the Recipient's bank

Cut-off time (UK) for us to start making the payment that day (see below)

Internal Transfers Immediate 11.45pm

Bill Payments Immediate for Bill Payments

to other accounts with us

and/or HSBC Bank plc.

Same day for other Bill

Payments that we can pay via

Faster Payments.

Three Working Days for Bill

Payments to HSBC Bank

International branch.

11.30pm for Bill Payments made

through the Faster Payments service

(occasionally the cut off time will be 6pm

if the payment is to someone you have

only recently paid for the first time and

fraud checks need to be carried out).

11.45pm for Bill Payments under

£50,000 made to a Recipient who

has an account with HSBC Bank plc,

first direct or M&S Bank in the UK.

7.30pm if the payment is for £50,000

or over.

3.00pm for all other Bill Payments.

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Electronic Fund Transfers

Same day. 3.30pm

Standing Orders Immediate to first direct and HSBC Bank accounts;

two hours to HSBC Bank

credit card accounts.

Three Working Days to HSBC

Bank International branch

accounts.

Same day for any other

standing orders.

For Internet Banking 2 Working Days

before first payment.

For telephone banking by 11.00pm

on the Working Day before the first

payment.

In HSBC branch or by post, the end

of the Working Day before the first

payment.

Direct Debits On the Direct Debit payment

date.

We must receive the instruction from the

Recipient by 10.30pm at least 2 Working

Days before the payment date.

Priority Payments To accounts within the EEA

and in an EEA currency – next

Working Day.

To accounts outside the EEA

and/or in a non-EEA currency

– up to five Working Days but

this may be longer depending

upon the country you are

sending the money to.

Currency cut-off times apply. Please

see your Interest Rates and Charges

information

SEPA Payments Next Working Day. 3.30pm

Cut-off times

We can only make Bill Payments not made through the Faster Payments service, Electronic Funds

Transfers and Standing Orders on Working Days. If you ask us to make one of these types of

payments on a non-Working Day we won’t start to make it until the next Working Day.

If we receive your payment instructions after the cut-off times set out above we’ll start making the

payment.

or

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Fraud checks

There may be a delay in carrying out your instructions while fraud prevention checks take place.

Payments may be delayed if we carry out fraud checks.

Cancelling a payment

If you’ve asked us to make a payment immediately you cannot cancel it unless the payment is a

duplicate SEPA payment which you have sent in error (a duplicate SEPA payment is a SEPA payment

that has the same beneficiary, for the same amount, and on the same day as another SEPA payment

you have sent), or a SEPA payment made fraudulently from your account by a non-account holder, in

which case you can cancel within 10 Working Days.

If you’ve asked us to make a payment in the future you can cancel it as follows:

Internal Transfers and Bill Payments– up to 11.45pm the day before we send the payment.

Automatic Transfers – up to 11.00pm the day we sent the payment.

Electronic Fund Transfers – up to 10.00pm by telephone banking the day before the payment is

to be made.

Standing Orders – for payments due in the next 2 Working Days you must cancel via telephone

banking before 11.00pm on the Working Day before the payment is to be made.

Priority Payments – up to 10.00pm the day before the payment is due to be made.

Direct Debit – up to 4.30pm the day before we send the payment by using telephone banking or via

an HSBC Express Bank Machine.

Details of ways you can cancel are set out in the Give me the facts brochure.

If the Recipient has switched their account

If the Current Account Switch Service advises us that the person you’re making a payment to has

switched their account to another provider, we’ll update your instruction with the new sort code and

account number.

4. Your debit card

We will issue 1st Account customers with a debit card.

If you hold your account jointly, where applicable, we will issue both of you with a debit card.

How you can use your card

You can use your card at our self-service machines, LINK cash machines in the UK and cash

machines displaying the “Visa” sign abroad. You can also use your card to make withdrawals at Post

Office® branches. You may need to enter your card PIN.

Other providers may charge you to use their cash machines. You’re responsible for paying these

charges. We’re not responsible if you can’t use your card in another provider’s machine.

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We set a daily cash withdrawal limit (this also applies to cash machine withdrawals you make at Post

Office® branches) and we’ll tell you what this is when we send you your card.

You can also use your debit card to:

call us to set this up;

deducted from your account immediately. All donations will be paid into an account with us in that

charity’s name; and

machines. You must ensure that you enter the correct mobile number as we won’t be responsible,

or provide a refund, if you enter an incorrect number. This service isn’t available in the Channel

Islands and Isle of Man.

Charity donations and mobile telephone top-ups count towards your daily cash withdrawal limit.

If we’ve advised you that one of our self-service machines is out of order, you must not use your card

in it.

Where you can use your debit card

Post Office® branches

You can use your card and its PIN at Post Office® branches in the UK (but not in the Channel Islands

or Isle of Man) to:

You can also pay cheques into the account using a pre-printed paying-in slip. You must hand this and

the cheque to a Post Office® cashier in a paying-in envelope.

Post Office Limited is our agent in providing these services to you. The Post Office® is a registered

trademark of Post Office Limited in the UK and other countries.

Post Office Limited won’t be able to give financial or banking advice to our customers about their

account or about our business, products or services. They won’t be responsible for our dealings with

you and your account.

Purchases

You can use your card to make payments to retailers that display the “Visa” sign, both in the UK and

abroad.

If your card displays the symbol, you can use it to make contactless payments up to the

limit we set. We’ll advise you of this limit when we send you your card. Contactless payments can be

made at retailers who accept these types of payments – you’ll normally see the above symbol on their

payment terminal.

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You can authorise a card payment in the following ways:

You must also produce evidence of your identity if asked. If you want to make a contactless

payment you must remove your card from your purse or wallet to make sure the right card is

used and then tap it on the retailer’s card terminal. In some cases you’ll also be asked to enter

your PIN or provide a signature for a contactless payment; or

your personal and card details and the 3-digit security number on the back of the card.

If you’re making a payment over the internet you may have to register for ‘Verified by Visa’. If you

don’t we may not authorise your payment. Once registered, you may be required to enter certain

characters from your ‘Verified by Visa’ password when you make a card payment online.

We won’t be responsible if a retailer refuses to accept your card.

Foreign currency debit card payments

You can use your card to make payments or cash withdrawals in a foreign currency.

If you want us to convert the payment/cash withdrawal to sterling you must select to pay in the

foreign currency. Visa will carry out the conversion and we’ll deduct the sterling amount from your

account. If you select to pay in sterling, the conversion will be done by the retailer or self-service

machine owner.

For more details about the exchange rate that will apply and our fees see the “Payments out of

your account” section at the beginning of these Terms.

Cancelling a debit card payment or withdrawal

You cannot cancel a cash withdrawal after you have pressed the button on the keypad agreeing to it.

You can tell us you want to cancel a recurring debit card payment (also known as a “continuous

payment authority”) up to the end of the Working Day before the next payment date. Alternatively,

you can cancel the recurring payment directly with the retailer who asks us for the payment.

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Type When we carry out the deduction

Card payment in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man

Normally the first Working Day after the retailer's

bank asks for the payment to be made. We'll make

the payment to the retailer's bank the same day.

Card payment outside the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man

When we receive details of the payment from Visa,

at the latest the next Working Day.

Sterling cash withdrawals from self-service machines in the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man

Same day

Sterling cash withdrawals from the Post Office®

Same day

Non-sterling cash withdrawals at self-service machines worldwide

When we receive details of the withdrawal from Visa,

at the latest by the next Working Day (whether you

have chosen to convert your cash withdrawal into

sterling or not).

Cash withdrawals made over the counter in an HSBC branch

Same day

5. International payments

You can use Currency Account Transfers, SEPA Payments and Priority Payments to make payments in

a foreign currency or to make payments abroad.

See the Account Features in the individual product summaries above to check which of these

payments you can make from your account (if you can make any).

Payment details

You must provide us with the following information for us to be able to make a foreign currency or

international payment from your account:

or national bank code;

SEPA payment or paying to a bank in the EEA;

When we deduct card payments and cash withdrawals from your account

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You must ensure that this information is correct. If the BIC and/or IBAN (or national bank code and/

or national account number if applicable), are not correct, it is unlikely your payment will reach the

Recipient’s account.

Please also see the “General Conditions for Making Payments” section earlier in these Terms for

information about which details banks use when applying payments to Recipients’ accounts.

Payment timescales

Cut-off times

There are two types of cut-off times:

The currency cut-off times for the payments in the above table are:

Euro and sterling payments – 3.30pm on a Working Day.

Any other EEA currency – 4.30pm on a Working Day.

Non-EEA currencies – please ask us for details.

If we receive your payment instructions after the earliest of the two cut-off times, we’ll start making the

payment on the next Working Day.

Payment type How long it takes the payment to reach the Recipient's bank

Payment cut-off time (see further details about cut-off time below)

Currency Account Transfer

Next Working Day. Currency cut-off times apply (see

below).

SEPA Payment Next Working Day Currency cut-off times apply (see

below).

Priority Paymentpayment is to an account

within the EEA and in an EEA

currency.

Payments – up to 5 Working

Days but it may be longer

depending on the country

the money is being sent to.

4.30pm on a Working Day.

Currency cut-off times apply (see

below).

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Exchange rates for international payments

You can ask us to convert a payment into a different currency before we send it. The first direct Exchange Rate applies to all conversions. These are variable rates that change frequently.

If you ask us to make a payment immediately, we’ll provide details of the first direct Exchange

Rate and you’ll have the opportunity to accept or reject it before confirming you want us to send

your payment.

If you have asked us to make a future-dated or recurring international payment, we will apply the

first direct Exchange Rate at the time we make the payment.

If:

set out in the “When we won’t make payments” section above

we will convert that payment back into sterling using the first direct Exchange Rate that applies

at that time. The amount added back to your account could be less than the original amount of

the payment depending on the first direct Exchange Rate that applies at that time. We are not

responsible for this. You can get details of the first direct Exchange Rate by calling us. If you’ve

asked us to make a payment on a date in the future, you can check the first direct Exchange Rate

by calling us before midnight the day before we make the payment.

Cancelling a payment

If you’ve asked us to make a payment immediately you cannot cancel it. The only exceptions to this

are if you’ve made two identical SEPA payments in error, or someone else has fraudulently made a

SEPA payment from your account. In that case you can cancel the payment within 10 Working Days.

6. Cheques you write

How long it takes for a cheque to be deducted from your account

How the cheque is paid in When the cheque is deducted from your account

Into an HSBC branch Same day

Cashed by you at an HSBC branch Same day

Cashed by you at a Post Office® branch (you

must agree this with us in advance)

Usually three Working Days after you pay it in,

provided you pay it in before the relevant Post

Office® branch cut-off time

Specially Presented On the day we receive your cheque

All other cheques Usually two Working Days after the Recipient of

the cheque pays it into their account.

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General conditions about cheques

You mustn’t write a future date on a cheque as the person you’re giving it to may pay it into their

account before that date. We won’t be responsible if we pay one of your cheques before the date

you’ve written on it. If you want to make a future-dated payment you should call us or use Internet

Banking.

You must take reasonable precautions to stop anyone altering or forging your cheques.

You must only write cheques in sterling.

You must tell us as soon as possible if you want to stop a cheque. We won’t be able to stop a

cheque after 1.30pm on the day we receive it for payment.

If one of your cheques is lost or stolen, or you think someone has signed one of your cheques

without your permission you must call us immediately.

We can refuse to pay a cheque you’ve written if the date on it is more than six months old; however,

we can still make the payment. If you’re asked to write a replacement for a lost cheque, it’s your

responsibility to cancel the original cheque first.

Banking of cheques for payment will be subject to the rules and clearing processes of any cheque

clearing system(s) used.

7. Payments into your account

Cash

Method of payment in When the cash will show in your account and be available for you to withdraw

Procedure

Over the counter at an HSBC branch

Immediately Complete a paying-in slip

At an HSBC self-service machine that accepts payments in and which automatically counts your cash

Immediately Depending on the machine

requirements, you must either

insert your sort code and

account number or use your

card (if you have one)

At an HSBC self-service machine that accept payments in

The same Working Day, provided

you pay in before the cut-off time

displayed on the machine. If you

pay in after the cut-off time the

cash will show in your account the

next Working Day.

Complete a paying-in slip

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Using your card at any Post Office® branch

Immediately Swipe your card through the

card reader and hand your

cash to the cashier

A maximum limit of £1,000 applies to cash payments in at Post Office® local branches.

At other banks if they allow you to do so – they may charge you

Immediately after we receive your

cash from the other bank

This depends on the other

bank's procedures

The day the amount of the cheque shows in your account balance

The day we take the amount of the cheque into account when we calculate any Overdraft Interest

The day the amount of the cheque is available to withdraw

The last day a cheque can be returned unpaid

Day 0 Two Working Days later (Day 2)

Three Working Days later (Day 3)

For sterling cheques drawn on and paid in at a UK bank, usually 6 Working Days after the cheque was received by us*

Other cheques – no time limit

For example, if a UK sterling cheque is paid into a UK bank on a Monday:

Monday Wednesday Thursday Tuesday the following week.

The cheque amount will be deducted from your account by 9.00am Wednesday

Electronic payments

If we receive a non-sterling payment for your account, we’ll convert it into sterling using the

first direct Exchange Rate at the time we receive the payment.

8. Cheques you receive

How long it takes for a cheque to show in your account

For sterling or euro cheques issued in the UK and paid into HSBC branches in the UK, Channel

Islands and Isle of Man:

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Day 0 means the day we receive the cheque. If you pay in a cheque after 3.30pm then this means we will receive the cheque the next Working Day. Details of our cheque cut-off times are in the Give me the facts brochure.

Because we process overnight, the deduction of an unpaid cheque from your account can happen up to 9.00am 7 Working Days after the cheque has been received by us.

* A cheque may be returned unpaid more than 6 Working Days after we received it if:

cheque; or

If you pay in a cheque at a Post Office® branch before that Post Office® branch cut-off time, we will

receive your cheque on the next Working Day. The above timescales will start on the day we receive

your cheque from the Post Office®.

If you pay a cheque into your account and are more than three Working Days into the process of

switching your account to another provider, we’ll send your new provider the amount of the cheque

four Working Days after the day you paid it in.

Please note that for cheques paid into HSBC branches in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man the

timescales above will start to apply once we receive the cheques in the UK.

Unpaid cheques

If a cheque is returned unpaid (“bounces”), we’ll deduct the amount of the cheque from your account.

If this leads to your account either:

we’ll treat this as an informal overdraft request from you.

Cheques made payable to someone else

You can pay a cheque made payable to someone else into your account if the person it’s payable to

has signed the back. We can also ask for other details before we accept it.

However, this doesn’t apply to a cheque marked “account payee only” or “not transferrable”, which

can only be paid into the account of the person it’s made payable to.

Foreign Cheques

We’ll agree to either “negotiate” a Foreign Cheque or send it for “collection”. We charge in both

instances, and you may also have to pay foreign agents’ charges and charges imposed by the bank

on which the Foreign Cheque is drawn.

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Negotiation of a Foreign Cheque

We’ll immediately add the Foreign Cheque amount to your account. We will convert the amount at

the first direct Exchange Rate applicable on the date we pay it in. We will tell you the applicable

exchange rate and fees we will charge in writing. For more information about fees see page 3.

If the Foreign Cheque is returned unpaid we’ll deduct the amount of the Foreign Cheque from your

account. If the Foreign Cheque was converted into another currency then we’ll reconvert it back to the

currency of the Foreign Cheque using the first direct Exchange Rate before we make the deduction.

Collection of a Foreign Cheque

We’ll collect the amount of the Foreign Cheque first and then pay that money into your account.

We may wait for a short time before paying the money into your account to make sure that the

Foreign Cheque is not going to be returned unpaid.

We’ll convert the amount we receive into sterling using the first direct Exchange Rate before we

pay it into your account.

We’re not responsible for any losses that result from changes to the first direct Exchange Rate.

You must sign on the back of a Foreign Cheque you want to pay into your account using the exact

same name given on the front of the Foreign Cheque.

9. What happens if things go wrong?

If you don’t recognise a payment from your account

You must check your statements regularly and carefully and call us immediately if you don’t recognise

a transaction or think we’ve made a payment incorrectly.

If you tell us that you didn’t authorise a payment, we’ll immediately refund your account with the

payment amount and any interest or charges you’ve paid as a result of that payment. We’ll have no

further responsibility to you.

If we later become aware that we’re not responsible for the unauthorised transaction, we’ll deduct the

amount of the refund from your account.

We won’t make an immediate refund if we reasonably suspect fraud or that you intentionally or with

gross negligence failed to keep your card, Security Device or your Security Details (including PINs and

passwords) safe. However, we’ll investigate the transaction as quickly as possible.

If you have, with gross negligence, or intentionally, failed to take any of the steps listed in the

“Protecting your account” section above that relate to the security of your card and/or PIN, your

maximum liability for unauthorised transactions that occur before you report the items lost or

stolen is £50.

You must tell us about any unauthorised payments within 13 months of the date of the payment;

otherwise you may not be entitled to have any errors corrected.

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If you authorised a payment, but not the amount, in advance (for example a hotel room service bill)

If you authorise a payment and:

into account your previous spending pattern, the Terms and all other circumstances;

you can ask us for a refund within eight weeks of the payment being deducted from your account

(subject to your additional rights under the Direct Debit Guarantee Scheme). We won’t make a

refund if you’ve agreed with us for the payment to be made and, where appropriate, details of the

payment are provided or made available to you at least four weeks before the payment is deducted

from your account.

You must provide us with any further appropriate information we ask for so we can decide whether we

should make a refund. We’ll make any refund or provide you with our reasons for refusing your request

within 10 Working Days of receiving all the information we require.

Tracing payments

If you ask us to, we’ll make immediate efforts to trace and recover an incorrect payment within two

Working Days, and will tell you the outcome. This may take longer for international payments.

Responsibility for unauthorised payments or fraud on your account

You act fraudulently You are responsible

You let another person use your card, Security Device or your Security Details or your account

You are responsible

You intentionally or with gross negligence do not use your card, telephone banking or Internet Banking or the Banking on the go App in accordance with the Terms or the Give me the facts brochure

You are responsible

You do not keep your card, Security Devices or Security Details safe

You are responsible (up to £50 for

your card)

You intentionally or with gross negligence do not notify us as soon as possible of the loss or theft of you card, Security Devices or Security Details, or if you suspect someone has tried to use any of them

You are responsible

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If someone else uses your card before you receive it

We are responsible unless you have

acted fraudulently

If your card has been used to purchase goods via the telephone, internet or mail order, or you have purchased goods or services via Internet Banking or telephone banking

We are responsible unless you have

acted fraudulently

After you have told us that your card, Security Devices or Security Details have been lost or stolen

We are responsible unless you have

acted fraudulently

If we have not provided the facilities for you to tell us that your card, Security Devices or any Security Details have been lost or stolen

We are responsible unless you have

acted fraudulently

If you have asked us to make a payment and provided the correct payment details

We are responsible unless we can

prove the Recipient's bank has

received the payment within the

usual timescales for making the

payment

You have provided us with incorrect payment details (see page 17)

You are responsible

Responsibilities

We are not responsible if we do not comply with any of the Terms:

would have been unavoidable despite all efforts to the contrary; or

10. Joint Accounts

Unless you tell us otherwise in writing, any joint account holder can:

If we convert a sole account to a joint account, any joint account holder(s) will be able to access

information from any point in the account history, including when it was a sole account.

We won’t convert joint accounts into the sole accounts unless one of the account holders dies (see

below).

We will send each joint account holder a statement unless you ask us not to. We will provide either joint

account holder with any information about the joint account.

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Disputes between joint account holders

If we become aware of a dispute, we’ll require all instructions on the joint account to come from

both of you going forward. This includes payment instructions, withdrawals and account closure

instructions.

We may also suspend your use of Internet Banking and ask you to destroy your card (if you have one)

and cheque book.

You can also tell us at any time that we must only accept instructions from both you and your joint

account holder going forward.

Death of a joint account holder

If one joint account holder dies, once we receive evidence of death we’ll transfer the account into the

name of the remaining joint account holder. This is subject to any rights that we, or another person (for

example, a beneficiary under the will of the person who has died), may have in respect of the account.

Mental incapacity

If we receive notice that one joint account holder has become mentally incapable then, we won’t allow

withdrawals, accept new payment instructions or an instruction to close the account from that time.

We will only be able to make payments that were authorised before we received notice of mental

incapacity until either an Attorney or Receiver (or a Curator in Jersey) is appointed to act for the person

who is mentally incapable.

11. Balance information and statements

We will either post you a paper statement regularly (at least every 12 months), or your statement will be

available to view within Internet Banking.

You can ask us to post you a paper statement free of charge if you:

Account balance and available balance

The balance on your account can include payments that are still being processed (for example card

payments) and doesn’t include the amount of any formal overdraft facility.

The available balance includes cleared funds in your account and any formal overdraft facility.

Court orders

We may have to comply with any Court Order or Order from the Child Maintenance and Enforcement

Commission we receive. This may mean we have to make deductions from your account and

payments may not be processed or may be reversed.

If a bankruptcy petition, sequestration order, Debt Relief Order or IVA is presented against you in the

UK then we’ll:

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12. Changes and how we’ll tell you about them

Changes to interest rates, charges, eligibility requirements and these Terms

We can make changes to interest rates, our charges (including applying new charges), eligibility

requirements and benefits and these Terms at any time if we reasonably believe the change is to your

advantage, or is needed for any one or more of the following reasons. These reasons may relate to

circumstances existing at the time or those that are expected to apply in the near future:

Service;

ombudsman, regulator or similar organisation; or

of changes to technology or systems we use including introducing new services or facilities or

replacing an existing service or facility with a new one.

Other reasons for changing interest rates

We can also change the interest rate (both credit interest and Overdraft Interest) at any time:

rates or indices or tax rates;

costs).

We can also change the interest rates for any other valid reason.

We won’t change the interest rate that we’ve agreed will apply during the term of any fixed rate

account.

Other reasons for changing charges

the costs of providing the account, services or facilities (including our funding costs).

We can also change charges for any other valid reason.

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Changes to our exchange rates

We can change the first direct Exchange Rate that applies to international payments at any time and

without giving you prior notice.

Changes to interest rates, charges, eligibility criteria and other Terms for reasons not stated in this section

We can make any change as long as we give you advance notice and you’re able to close your

account, or end a service that relates to an account, before the change takes effect and without

charge.

over a long period of time and it is difficult for us to anticipate all the circumstances when we might

need to change the way the account works. If you don’t like any change we make in this way, you

have the right to close your account and move to a new account either with us or with another bank.

How we’ll tell you about changes to variable credit interest rate

If we introduce credit interest or increase the rate of interest we’ll tell you personally within 31 days of the

change. We’ll also display this information on our website.

If we reduce the rate of credit interest or remove it we’ll tell you personally at least 2 months in

advance.

Changes to charges

Overdraft charges

Other charges

If we change charges set out in these Terms (including introducing new charges), we will tell you

personally at least 2 months in advance.

How we’ll tell you about other changes

If we make changes to account benefits and eligibility requirements, any terms and conditions on set-

off or any terms and conditions on cheques, we will tell you personally at least 2 months in advance if

the change is disadvantageous and for other changes within 30 days of the change.

If we make changes to any other terms and conditions, we will tell you personally at least 2 months in

advance.

Changing payment information in the “Give me the facts” brochure

Throughout these Terms we have referred to the Give me the facts brochure for further information

on certain payments-related matters. There is also important information in the Give me the facts

brochure about us, who we are regulated by and how you can make a complaint.

We’ll tell you at least two months in advance if we change this information.

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What you can do if you don’t like a change we’ve made to interest rates, charges or terms and conditions

If we provide you with advance notice that we’re going to make a change to the Terms or the Give me

the facts brochure, you can close your account without charge within two months of the date of any

advance notice to you or, if longer, up to the date the change is due to take effect.

If you do not tell us that you want to close your account, then we will assume you have accepted the

change and it will take effect automatically.

13. Closing your account

Cooling-off period

Unless you have a Fixed Rate Savings Bond, a 14 day cooling-off period applies after we open your

account. During this time you can close your account by writing to us at 40 Wakefield Road, Leeds,

LS98 1FD, by using Internet Banking or by calling us.

If you applied for your account by telephone the cooling-off period will start from the day after you

receive these Terms.

If you exercise your right to cancel a savings account we will repay the balance and interest to your 1st

Account unless you advise us to pay it into another savings account with us.

If you do not use your right to cancel, the account will continue until closed by us or you.

How you can close your account

You can close your account at any time by calling us, writing to us or by using Internet Banking.

When we can close your account

We can close your account immediately and without notice if you’ve seriously and

persistently broken any of the Terms, including where:

use or obtain, an account, service or money illegally; or

which makes it inappropriate for us to maintain your account; or

liability for tax; or

37

or other duty, or we, or another HSBC Group company, may be exposed to action or censure

from any government, regulator or law enforcement agency.

We can close your account for any reason provided we give you two months’ personal notice.

We can close your fixed term account by giving you two months’ advance personal notice if:

the ‘Your Information’ section below apply, and we do not close your account immediately and

without notice as described above; or

policies and procedures, and responsibilities.

If we close your fixed term account, we will pay you interest up to the date of closure. We will

pay your money (including interest) to your 1st Account unless you ask us to pay it into a savings

account with us.

When your account is closed

If you close your account, we’ll deduct any charges and interest which haven’t yet been applied to

your account before paying the balance of the account to you.

If you switch a current account to another provider using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS),

we’ll deduct any outstanding interest and charges that haven’t yet been applied to your account

before sending the balance to your new account.

You are responsible for cancelling payments into and out of your account.

You must destroy your card and unused cheques (if you have them) by cutting them into at least six

pieces.

If, after account closure, we pay any card payments or cheque payments authorised by you, or any

charges relating to them, you will be responsible for these.

If you have a 1st Account and someone tries to make a payment into your account after it’s been

closed and any redirection period under the Current Account Switch Service has come to an end, we’ll

take reasonable steps to return the payment to them.

14. Set-off (using money in one account to meet a debt on another)

If you:

other credit product);

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we can use the money you have with us to reduce or repay the amount you owe us.

This is our right of “set-off”.

We can use this right in the following ways:

Unless prevented by law, we can use our right of set-off in relation to any sole or joint accounts that

you hold with any HSBC Group company worldwide.

Exceptions

We cannot use our right of set-off:

else;

certain important debts.

If we’re considering using our right of set off:

our right of set-off in advance; and

first direct Exchange Rate that applies at the time.

If we use our right of set-off, we will let you know that we have done so, the date we exercised the

right and the amount debited from the account.

15. Tax on credit interestWe’ll pay you credit interest after deduction of basic rate tax. If you are a higher rate tax payer you may

have to pay higher rate income tax on your credit interest.

If you’re a UK resident and are eligible to receive credit interest gross you need to provide us with a

form R85. Please see our website for further details.

Account in credit held in the name of:

Right of set-off can be applied against amounts owed on accounts held by:

A A

A A and B

A and B A and B

A and B A

A and B B

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16. OverdraftsOverdrafts are only available on 1st Accounts. You must be at least 18 to apply for an overdraft.

Overdrafts are subject to status.

Overdraft requests are classed as “formal” or “informal”.

A formal overdraft request is where you ask us for an overdraft facility in advance of making any

payments that would take your account overdrawn.

If you authorise a payment that would take your account:

this is an informal overdraft request. Every time you authorise such a payment, this constitutes a

new informal overdraft request.

If we agree to provide an informal overdraft to cover a particular payment, we’ll provide you with this

for 31 days.

Overdraft Interest and charges

We may charge you Overdraft Interest whenever your account goes overdrawn, on the amount by

which it is overdrawn.

We’ll calculate Overdraft Interest each day and deduct it from your account once a month, or when we

have to make demand or when the account is closed. Details of our current Overdraft Interest rates

are set out in the product summaries above.

We may also charge you an Informal Overdraft Usage Fee on any day your account is in informal overdraft. Please see “Overdraft Interest and Overdraft Charges” sections at the start of

these Terms for more details.

We’ll give you at least 14 days’ notice before deducting any Overdraft Interest or charges from your

account.

If we don’t agree to your overdraft request:

Formal overdraft request – we’ll tell you when you apply.

Informal overdraft request – we won’t make the payment you’ve authorised.

When you have to repay your overdraft

Overdrafts are a short-term way to borrow money. You must make regular payments into your account

and tell us straightaway if you’re not able to do this.

We can, at any time, end your overdraft and ask you to repay it. If we do this, we’ll write to you to ask

you to repay the overdrawn balance on your account immediately.

We can also ask you to repay part of your overdrawn balance at any time. If we end or reduce your

overdraft this will usually be because there has been a change in your personal circumstances.

Joint accounts

Both joint account holders are responsible for repaying any overdraft on a joint account. We can

demand repayment of the overdraft from both of the joint account holders.

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17. Text Alerts

To try to help you avoid charges, if we hold a mobile telephone number for you we may send you text

messages:

day.

You can opt out of receiving these text messages by calling us.

It may not be possible for us to send you text messages on every occasion set out above (for

example, if there are problems with our systems or if it’s after 10.45pm) and you must continue to

monitor your account carefully yourself.

We’ll send these text messages to the most recent mobile telephone number we hold for you. You

must tell us as soon as possible if you change your mobile telephone number.

If you’re outside the UK some mobile network operators may charge you for receiving text alerts. You should consider if you want us to temporarily suspend the text alerts whilst you’re abroad to avoid these charges.

18. Internet Banking

General

Internet Banking is designed for use in the UK.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to access all products you hold with us through Internet Banking, e.g.

personal loans.

You can access first direct products you hold jointly with someone else through Internet Banking.

We do not charge you to use Internet Banking. However, you may have to pay charges to your

telephone or internet provider when you access the internet.

We’re not responsible for any services through which you access Internet Banking e.g. broadband, or

any services you access through Internet Banking which we do not own or control.

We may change the content and layout of the screens in Internet Banking without giving you prior

notice.

HSBC and first direct are all registered trademarks. We have a licence for, or own, all copyrights

for our website through which you access Internet Banking and all trademarks and other materials

used on it.

Access

Occasionally Internet Banking may be temporarily unavailable if we are carrying out routine or emergency

maintenance on it. We will try and give you advance notice but may not always be able to do so,

especially in an emergency situation.

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Before you can access some parts of Internet Banking, for example changing your personal details,

we may ask for additional Security Details.

It is your responsibility to make sure your computer or other device can be used to access Internet

Banking.

Secure Messages

We can exchange secure messages with you through “Secure Messages” in Internet Banking. We will

aim to respond to your messages within 2 Working Days. If this is not possible or if we’re not willing

to answer your query or comply with your request within this timescale or at all, we will aim to let you

know this within two Working Days. You will not be able to cancel a request sent in a message if we

have already dealt with it.

You must not send us messages:

make payments (you must telephone us instead);

You should check your secure messages regularly as they may contain important information.

19. Text Message Banking

If you have registered for Text Message Banking we will send text messages to the mobile number

you have nominated. It is your responsibility to make sure your mobile telephone can receive our text

messages and the text messaging service provided by your mobile network operator is compatible.

You can request:

your account. If you do not use your account for 90 days we’ll stop sending mini statements;

you have chosen and your account balance;

recent transactions (up to a maximum of five) every day your balance is above or below the

amount you have chosen, provided there has been activity on your account that day.

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Charges

Your mobile network operator may charge you to receive text messages – you are responsible for

these charges.

Changes

If you want to change the messages we send you or cancel them, you can tell us by calling us or

through Internet Banking. We need your instructions before 10.00pm to be able to comply with

them from the next Working Day.

Security

You must call us as soon as possible if you think any of the text messages we have sent you are

wrong.

You must keep your mobile phone safe at all time. In particular, you should make sure that your

phone is protected by a PIN code.

If you are going abroad, the security of foreign telephone networks through which the texts we send

you will pass may not be as secure as in the UK. For that reason we would recommend you ask us

to suspend sending you text messages whilst you are abroad.

We may suspend sending you text messages if we reasonably believe that you are not receiving

the text messages sent to your telephone or someone else is receiving them. We will confirm this in

writing immediately afterwards.

Responsibilities

We will not be responsible if the texts we send you are incomplete or do not arrive due to the fault of

your mobile network operator or any mobile network operator you use whilst abroad.

Frequency

We can only send text messages to you once, we will not provide copies.

20. Contacting you

We’ll use any contact details we have for you to contact you for service and operational reasons, for

example to tell you about changes to the Terms.

If you’re registered for Internet Banking we may also contact you using the secure message facility

within Internet Banking.

You must tell us as soon as possible if any of the contact details we hold for you change.

We may record telephone numbers that you call us from. In limited circumstances we may contact

you using these telephone numbers but only if we have not been able to contact you on the

telephone numbers you have provided to us.

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21. Your information

General information

Where we refer in this ‘Your Information’ section to the HSBC Group this includes first direct which is a division of HSBC Bank plc.

We will not disclose Customer Information to anyone, other than where:

‘Your Information’ section.

Collection of Customer Information

Members of the HSBC Group may collect, use and share Customer Information (including

information about you, your transactions, your use of your products and services and your

relationships with the HSBC Group). Customer Information may be:

credit reference agencies;

Use of Customer Information

We will process, transfer and disclose Customer Information to:

example, product development, insurance, audit and credit and risk management);

them); and

44

Sharing Customer Information

When we use Customer Information for the purposes set out above, we may transfer and disclose it

as follows:

intermediary, correspondent and agent banks, clearing houses and clearing or settlement

systems;

agencies and debt recovery agents;

receive them;

member’s business;

The above Recipients may also process, transfer and disclose Customer Information for the

purposes set out above and they may be in countries where data protection Laws do not provide

the same level of protection as in the UK.

However, whether it is processed in the UK or overseas, Customer Information will be protected by

a strict code of secrecy and security which all members of the HSBC Group, their staff and third

parties are subject to.

Your responsibilities

of the HSBC Group within 30 days of the change.

Group.

member of the HSBC Group, you must first tell them about, and obtain their agreement to, their

information being processed, transferred and disclosed as set out above. You must also tell

them that they can access and correct their information.

You alone are responsible for complying with your tax obligations (and Connected Persons are

responsible for complying with theirs), such as payment of tax and filing of tax returns, in all

countries where those obligations arise and relating to the opening and use of accounts and

Services provided by members of the HSBC Group. Some countries’ tax Laws may apply to you

even if you do not live there or are not a citizen of that country. No member of the HSBC Group

provides tax advice or is responsible for your tax obligations in any country including in connection

with any accounts or Services provided by members of the HSBC Group. You should seek

independent legal and tax advice.

45

What happens if you don’t meet your responsibilities

If:

with this “Your Information” section (other than for marketing or market research purposes; or

then we may:

and/or

If you do not give us Tax Information about you or a Connected Person when we request it, we may

make our known decision about your tax status. This may result in us reporting you to a Tax Authority,

withholding any amounts from products or services you have with us and paying those to the

appropriate Tax Authority.

22. Actions we take to prevent Financial Crime

Members of the HSBC Group may carry out Financial Crime Risk Management Activity. Exceptionally

this may result in members of the HSBC Group delaying or refusing either to process a payment or

your instructions, or to provide all or part of any Services to you.

No member of the HSBC Group shall be responsible to you or any third party for any loss incurred as

a result of any member of the HSBC Group carrying out Financial Crime Risk Management Activity.

Accessing your information

You can make a written request for a copy of certain personal records we hold about you. The current

fee is £10.00 per request for each individual.

Credit reference and fraud prevention agencies

If you apply for an account or credit, we may use details of your credit history to assess your ability

to meet your financial commitments. The credit reference agencies will record details which may

form part of your credit history whether or not you proceed with your application. If you make several

applications within a short period of time, this may temporarily affect your ability to obtain credit. Where

you have agreed, we may share details of how you manage any current accounts or borrowing from

us with credit reference agencies.

If we make demand for repayment following default and you fail to repay the full amount due or to

make and keep to acceptable proposals for repayment within 28 days, we may (in the absence of any

genuine dispute about the amount owed) register the default with the credit reference agencies. This

may affect your ability to obtain further credit.

46

If you make a joint application for a current account or credit, an association linking your financial

records with those of your fellow applicant(s) will be created by the credit reference agencies. The

credit history of your ‘associates’ may be taken into consideration in any future application for credit.

The association will continue to link your credit histories unless and until you successfully file a

‘notice of disassociation’ with the credit reference agencies.

Further information on credit scoring, credit reference and fraud prevention agencies

Further details explaining how information held by credit reference agencies and fraud prevention

Prevention Agencies” available on our website firstdirect.com or can be requested by writing

to the Fraud Manager, first direct, 40 Wakefield Road, Leeds, LS98 1FD. Please write to this

address if you require details of the credit reference and fraud agencies we use.

Information we may store on your computer

When you use any device to access HSBC Group websites information may be stored and

accessed on your device:

websites; and/or

more likely to be relevant and of interest to you.

If you receive emails from or on behalf of the HSBC Group, they may include technologies to track,

for market research purposes, if you open the emails and if you use internet links within them.

Further information on our cookie policy, website terms and privacy statement can be found on our

website.

Other ways we can use your information

To ensure that we carry out your instructions accurately, to help us improve our service and in the

interests of security, we may monitor and/or record your communications with us such as telephone

calls. In the interests of security and preventing crime we may use closed circuit TV in and around

our premises for the monitoring and collection of sound and/or visual images. All recordings remain

our sole property.

We may make and keep copies of identification evidence that you provide.

If you change your mind about receiving marketing information or about participating in market

research you should tell us.

This “Your Information” section will continue to apply even if this Agreement is ended by you or us.

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23. Account transfers

Transferring your account to a different bank

We can transfer all of our rights in relation to your account to someone else.

We can transfer all of our obligations in relation to your account but only to someone we consider

capable of performing them equally as well as us and who is authorised or recognised by our

regulator as being able to accept deposits. This will not reduce any of your guarantees and rights in

relation to your account.

Transferring your account to another person

You cannot transfer any of your rights and obligations in relation to your account, or your account

itself, to anyone else.

24. General

Inactive accounts

We will mark your account as dormant (i.e we suspend it) if it has been inactive for at least 12 months.

Unclaimed asset scheme

We participate in the unclaimed assets scheme. If you have an account with us (including an account

that we’ve closed in accordance with these Terms but we haven’t been able to repay your money

to you) and there has been no activity from you on your account for at least the last 15 years we

may transfer any money in your account to the unclaimed assets scheme at Reclaim Fund Limited.

We’ll tell you at least 30 days before we do this. If we haven’t already done so, we may then close

your account. You’ll still have the right to your money - you should ask us for information about how

to get your money back. The transfer of money to the unclaimed assets scheme won’t affect any

entitlement you may have to compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Further information to help you find lost accounts can be found at www.mylostaccount.org.uk. The

unclaimed assets scheme is not applicable in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

25. Extra time

If we allow you some extra time to meet your obligations in these Terms or do not use some of our

rights, this does not mean that we will do so again.

26. The law that applies to these terms

The Laws of England and Wales apply to these Terms and how we dealt with you before we opened

your account. You can take legal proceedings against us in the UK or in the country where you live.

These Terms are in English and any communications we send to you will be in English.

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27. Complaints

Your views are important to us. If we do not deliver the standard of service you expect, or if we make a

mistake, we want to know. We will investigate the situation and set about putting things right as quickly

as possible. Where appropriate, we will also take steps to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.

Talk to us:

Phone us at any time on 03 456 100 100 (or +44 113 234 5678 from overseas).

Text-phone 03 456 100 147 (or Text Relay +44 151 494 1260 from overseas)

Email us:

The most secure way to email us is by logging on to Internet Banking and using our secure messaging

facility.

Alternatively, you can email us at: 24hours@firstdirect.com. Please remember that email isn’t 100%

secure so we recommend you do not include your account details, but please provide your name,

address and contact number, so that we can contact you.

Write to us:

Write to Customer Relations Team at first direct, 40 Wakefield Road, Leeds, LS98 1FD.

If we have not been able to resolve any complaint you make about our products and services within

eight weeks, or you are not satisfied with our response, you can refer your complaint to the Financial

Ombudsman Service. If you want to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service, you will need to do

this within six months from receipt of our final response.

The Ombudsman is a free, independent service that looks into disputes between financial businesses

and their customers.

You can find out more on their website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk, by phone on

0800 0234567 or 0300 1239123 or by emailing them at complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Or you can write to them at The Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR.

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Glossary

1st Account means the first direct 1st Account, or any other current account we replace it with.

Authorities includes any judicial, administrative, public or regulatory body, any government, any Tax

Authority, court, central bank or law enforcement body, or any of their agents with jurisdiction over any

part of the HSBC Group.

Banking on the go App or App means our Mobile Banking Application which can be downloaded

to any mobile device that runs an operating system supported by us.

Bill Payment means a payment to someone else’s account in the UK.

Bond means your first direct Fixed Rate Savings Bond.

Compliance Obligations means obligations of the HSBC Group to comply with: (a) Laws or

international guidance and internal policies or procedures, (b) any demand from Authorities or

reporting, disclosure or other obligations under Laws; and (c) Laws requiring us to verify the identity of

our customers.

Connected Person means any natural person or legal entity (other than you) whose information

(including Personal Data or Tax Information) you provide, or which is provided on your behalf, to any

member of the HSBC Group or which is otherwise received by any member of the HSBC Group

in connection with the provision of the Services. A Connected Person may include any guarantor,

Recipient of a payment, anyone who has opened or operates an account on your behalf, anyone

entitled to the money in an account or any other persons or entities with whom you have a relationship

that is relevant to your relationship with the HSBC Group.

Currency Account Transfer means a transfer made to another UK account held with us in your

name (including joint accounts) that involves a currency exchange or is made in a currency other

than sterling.

Customer Information means your Personal Data, confidential information, and/or Tax Information

or that of a Connected Person.

EEA means all the countries in the European Union together with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

Electronic Fund Transfer means a sterling payment you make to someone else’s account which is

made through a service called the Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS).

Financial Crime means money laundering, terrorist financing, bribery, corruption, tax evasion, fraud,

evasion of economic or trade sanctions, and/or any acts or attempts to circumvent or break any Laws

relating to these matters.

Financial Crime Risk Management Activity means any action to meet Compliance Obligations

relating to the detection, investigation and prevention of Financial Crime. This may include: (a)

screening, intercepting and investigating any communication, application for Services or any payment,

whether sent to or by you or on your behalf; (b) investigating the source of or intended Recipient

of money; (c) combining Customer Information with other related information in the possession of

the HSBC Group; and/or (d) making further enquiries as to the status of a relevant person or entity,

whether they are subject to a sanctions regime or confirming their identity or status.

Fixed Term means the duration of your Bond, as set out on the Information Sheet you are given.

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Foreign Cheque means either a cheque in a foreign currency drawn on a bank anywhere or a

sterling/euro cheque drawn on a bank abroad.

HSBC Group and any member of the HSBC Group means HSBC Holdings plc, and/or any of

its affiliates, subsidiaries, associated entities and any of their branches and offices.

Internal Transfer means a sterling transfer you make to another one of your UK accounts

(including a joint account) with us.

Internet Banking means our Internet Banking service.

Laws include any local or foreign law, regulation, judgment or court order, voluntary code, sanctions

regime, agreement between any member of the HSBC Group and an Authority, or agreement or

treaty between Authorities and applicable to HSBC or a member of the HSBC Group.

Maximum Monthly Balance means £300 in the first month after your Regular Saver Account is

opened increasing by £300 in each subsequent month, so £600 in month 2, £900 in month 3 and

so on.

Overdraft Interest means interest you pay for any overdraft on your account.

Personal Data means any information relating to an individual from which they can be identified.

Priority Payment means either an international payment where a SEPA payment is not

appropriate or a UK payment involving a currency exchange where a Currency Account Transfer is

not appropriate.

Recipient means the person receiving the money being paid (this may be another person or it may

be you if you are sending a payment to another account you have or are withdrawing cash).

Security Details means all PINs and passwords you use to access your account by any method

e.g. telephone banking, Internet Banking, debit card.

Security Devices are devices such as your first direct Secure Key, if you have one.

SEPA payment means a payment in euros, up to the equivalent of £2,000, to an account within

the European Economic Area, Switzerland and Monaco (excluding the UK). SEPA payments cannot

be made from accounts held in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

Services means (a) the opening, maintaining and closing of your accounts with us; (b) providing

you with credit facilities and other banking products and services, processing applications, credit

and eligibility assessment, and (c) maintaining our overall relationship with you, including marketing

services or products to you, market research, insurance, audit and administrative purposes.

Special presentation means we will post a cheque to the bank it is drawn on and they confirm

whether the cheque will be paid.

Standing Order means a regular payment (for a set amount) to someone else’s account.

Tax Authority means UK or foreign tax, revenue or monetary Authorities (for example, Her

Majesty’s Revenue and Customs).

Tax Information means documentation or information about your tax status.

Terms means these terms and conditions.

UK means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

we, us, our mean first direct, a division of HSBC Bank plc.

Working Day means Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays.

†Text-phone 03 456 100 147 or if calling from abroad +44 113 234 5678 (Text Relay

+44 151 494 1260). Because we want to make sure we’re doing a good job calls may

be monitored and/or recorded, we hope you don’t mind.

first direct is a division of HSBC Bank plc which is authorised by the Prudential

Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential

Regulation Authority. Registered in England number 14259 Registered Office: 8 Canada

Square, London E14 5HQ.

© HSBC Bank plc 2015. All Rights Reserved.

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40 Wakefield RoadLeeds LS98 1FD