HSBC Bank Australia Limited Reviews 

Abysmal service. Trying to discharge a mortgage is a crazy and intolerable mess. No point in having branch's as they stick you in a room and get you to talk to someone on the phone anyway. Complete joke. So pleased they are leaving Australia so no-one has to suffer them in the future.

Huge inconvenience having to apply for new credit card as HSBC decide to leave banking in Australia. All direct debits, accounts etc have to be changed. Why can the credit card and mortgage just change to HSBC global product ? How about a little gift to sweeten the complete hassle you are causing your customers. A couple of movie tickets would at least show you acknowledge the inconvenience. Oh and enjoy the $8 my mortgage went up with the last piece of paper you sent 🤣

They sell their high quality loan book to private equity then have no staff left to discharge the loan! Apparently they are too busy to let the new lender know whether they are turning up or not on the day so it’s pot luck whether you get discharged or not. My advice to anyone who isn’t willing to be sold on to pepper money is to start thinking about the move sooner rather than later as they sure as anything will be too busy to discharge you as the transfer date gets closer. They must be too busy to close my credit card as well. Interesting that they forfeited my request flyer points earned when I cancelled but the card still shows up on my credit report 3 months later.

HSBC have to be THE worst bank in Australia. I have worked for them and many other financial institutions over the years and HSBC have really gone to the bottom of the food chain. After being sued for $35m by the ASIC for their atrocious handling of scam victims, they announced that they will be shutting down their retails operations in Australia in 2027 and their loan book would be sold to Pepper Money.

So we decided that we would shut down our Home Equity Loan now as we did not owe any money and was just there for emergencies. On 3rd August we completed a discharge of mortgage form and returned the signed document to HSBC with our ID. They said it will take 21 days to process the discharge. A week later they call saying that my partner needs to do a Know Your Customer (KYC) as his details had not been updated since 2013. They did this over the phone. Another week later we get an email stating my partner needs to do a KYC and will need to go to a branch - the nearest being 75km away. Not only that, they wanted us to complete a form to confirm that we were not tax payers in the USA. What!!! We made a formal complaint to Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

They booked a settlement date of 2nd October - of course it did not happen. I dread to think of what may have happened had we been selling or refinancing. The discharge was finally processed on 12th October - 10 WEEKS after lodging the request. GOOD RIDDANCE HSBC!

Disgusting behavior by HSBC Australia. First they sell out everyone's loans and credit to Blackstone with zero consultation with their members. Now they can't even discharge mortgages to other lenders because they have no staff left. This is the definition of absurdity. The fact the Australian government has let this happen is scandalous. HSBC has shafted not only it's customers, but also it's staff!
I urge everyone experiencing the same difficulties as me to lodge complaints with the AFCA ombudsman!

HSBC Australia is closer to a Malaysian scam call centre than a licensed bank. The conduct of their staff is representative of what you would expect from someone trying to fleece you, they will mislead you, they will flat out lie, delay and obstruct. I feel a sense of second-hand stress when I think of all the people currently banking with them and now need to deal with trying to get their money out. Best of luck to you all and don't forget you have The Australian Financial Complaints Authority to help move things forward, do not hesitate to immediately submit cases with them as soon as you see the earliest signs of deceit from their slippery staff.

I did have a good opinion. But today I called to report fraudulant charge on my HSBC account.

I was spoken to after a few min, told ot was no fraud and transfered. I am now an hour and a half into being on hold.

Terrible! I have been trying to close my account now for over 6 months. Nothing can be done online - it has to be done in person at a branch (which are few and far between), or by mail correspondence for which there is no paper trail when they inevitably lose the documents you are sending. I have been told multiple conflicting ways to close my account and it still hasn’t been finalised. Will never bank with them again.

Good riddance to this thieving organisation. I am still waiting on my mortgage discharge. I was given a payout amount and told there was two other payments. One was the banks payout cost and Aus gov tax.
I paid the $395 payout fee and was told it would take three weeks to settle. Two weeks later this disgusting organisation stole another mortgage payment. I immediately returned it to my account as I need that money. So, I wait and wait and wait to speak to a person. Turns out even though they are bordering on malpractice I have to incur extra costs for taking back my money.
This group are incompetent and think they can hide behind a corporation. They have hit me with another payout amount. I paid it just to remove them from my life. Of course I am still waiting on my discharge certificate.
People are lucky this inept band of thieves are leaving Australia. But I would be looking at who is taking over. Get out before you find yourself lining pockets of people who have no compunction about stealing from you.
A terrible experience to encounter when one finally gets to paying out a mortgage. It should be a celebration, instead it has been a disaster and so disheartening.

I wish I had taken the time to read the reviews before engaging with HSBC in Australia. Not only do they lack initiative, but I almost always need to escalate matters to senior management to achieve a response or result. Absolutely woeful.

Currenlty dealing with a lady called Suman Bala ... suppose to be Premier Banking Manager. She has no idea of customer service.

Worst banking experience Ive ever had. Trying to refinance they continually delayed discharge and had a different reason every time. We had the solicitors send through correspondance relating to our mortgage and caught out HSBC bare faced lying. If you are thinking about using this deceitful bank, think again. Worst expirience banking wise of our life.

If you’re thinking about banking here, I’d strongly recommend looking elsewhere. This has been, without question, the worst banking experience I’ve ever had.

The online banking system is clunky, frustrating to use, and feels years behind other banks. Trying to get assistance was an exercise in futility because customer service was virtually non-existent. After getting nowhere, I had no choice but to travel to the Sunnybank branch simply to close my account.

Unfortunately, the branch experience was no better. The service I received was unprofessional, unhelpful, and completely lacking in customer care. I left wondering how a major bank can operate with such poor systems and such disappointing service standards.

I’ve dealt with many financial institutions over the years, and this one sits firmly at the bottom of the list. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. If I could give it a minus 100, I would.

I have had so much trouble with this bank. They refused to cash a cheque because my middle name was missing and everytime i try and withdraw cash i get a confirm its you 2mfa code which works and then it locks me out of the account. If you cant deposit or withdraw money from a bank what good are they to you. Now i cant even close my account as they make you jump through so many hurdles.

HSBC Global account. I have one of these. Only got it for travel to the UK. Was assured it was all ready to be used in Atms, branches and eftpos terminals IN the UK £5,000 in Sterling to be used on a holiday.
Arrived UK 16th June. Declined at several Atms and in local HSBC branch.
Branches CANNOT contact, other branches. International call centre, CANNOT contact ANY of their branches. Account holders CANNOT contact ANY branch by phone! Try calling them. I was informed that each branch is a FRANCHISE. Not the global giant they would have us believe.
Notes on individuals accounts are left by the call centre. I don't believe branches can view them. Why else would they immediately block a replacement card they have just sent halfway around the World?
Australian HSBC couriered a replacement card to the UK. It worked once and was blocked immediately thereafter. A second card is being couriered from AUSTRALIA. Two weeks on I am still waiting. No money, no online, no eftpos. No car hire, no trip booking just ekeing out the small amount I did manage to withdraw. This was to be a spontaneous 5 week tour with likelihood of week or so in Europe. I can't even rebook my flight home early, online payment required.
A worse customer experience I just cannot imagine. But for couchsurfing and borrowing from relatives I could well have been stuck on the streets, penniless.
$%&@ YOU HSBC. I will happily leave a shithouse review wherever I find an opportunity. 5 weeks wasted.
Update. Despite HSBC inviting me to email explaining the issue. And assurance they would get back to me asap... Just a deafening silence 4 days later...
Getting money out of this account and having a card I could use for online booking purposes is proving IMPOSSIBLE. THE LEFT HAND HAS NO IDEA WHAT THE LEFT FINGERS ARE DOING. LET ALONE THE RIGHT HAND. I WILL UPDATE IF THERE IS ANY SIGN OF MY MONEY RETURNING TO MY CONTROL.
Currently 14 days this has been going on. Still waiting for a solution.

just wanted to put some sterling cash into my global money account which was established in the UK , i was told to contact the UK . not all that global and not much help, pretty useless TBH.

I put in a dispute for a vendor that was paid $700 for an item and basically disappeared with the money, nothing being sent and all communications cut. The. Bank sent a letter to NAB who said the funds were quickly taken out of the account, so HSBC said there is nothing they could do and would not refund me like the big 4 do.

I've been with HSBC for a month. Before that, I have been using big 4.

Standard features that HSBC doesn't offer or doesn't do well so far
- pay id
- Osko
- time for transfer to Australia banks is very unpredictable. it can take from a few minutes to over 48 hours
- home loan doesn't automatically draw money from an account. I need to manually transfer to loan accounts
- you cannot have phone app on multiple devices
- basic things (e.g. request for changing daily limit) cannot be done online. you will need to either go to its branch or send an email.
- When I went to its branch, I was served in an open area. I could hear conversations of other people in the air.

The list can go on and on.

Wish me luck as I will need to stick with HSBC for months.

Customer safety issue.
While travelling internationally, I transferred funds from my HSBC offset account into my personal transaction account so I could access money via card and online payments for accommodation, food, and basic necessities.
The funds were immediately removed from my offset account, meaning I instantly lost both access to the money and the benefit of the offset balance against my mortgage interest. However, despite the funds leaving the account, HSBC failed to transfer the money into the receiving account where I urgently needed access to it.
This left me stranded overseas without access to my own money.
I contacted HSBC immediately to explain the situation and spoke with a staff member named Rylee. The call reference number provided was:
0905 2054 3410276
During this conversation, I clearly explained:
I was overseas
I was alone
It was approaching evening
I had no access to funds for accommodation, transport, food, or safety
This was an emergency situation
Despite this, I was repeatedly told there was “nothing” that could be done and that the funds would simply remain unavailable until Monday.
What is most concerning is not simply the delay itself, but the complete absence of any attempt to problem-solve, escalate the issue, provide emergency assistance options, or offer any form of customer protection or support.
I specifically asked:
whether the issue could be escalated,
whether the transfer could be reversed,
whether there was an emergency team,
or whether any alternative solution existed.
I was repeatedly told no.
I also requested the staff member’s full name and this was not provided.
The situation makes very little sense operationally: HSBC was able to immediately remove the funds from one account electronically, yet apparently unable to complete the electronic transfer into the receiving account or return the money to the original account.
Ultimately, I was only able to remain safe because a friend in Australia transferred money to me immediately from ANZ, which appeared in my account almost instantly. Without that assistance, I would have been left stranded in another country with no ability to safely access accommodation or necessities.
Frankly, this experience was unacceptable.
A bank withholding access to a customer’s own funds while they are overseas and vulnerable — while simultaneously offering no escalation pathway or emergency support — presents a serious customer safety issue.

Very poor bank experience, they are not user friendly and have old school payments that take more than 24 hours. I had left my 15yrs banking with Commonwealth but due to their experience had to return back. They reported my one day late payment to equivalent which is ideally 24 hour transfer time and upon request deny to remove it. I have never had such a poor experience with banking ever.