HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA) Review: Is the savings account worth it?

What happened?

Many in the Beansprout community have been talking about the HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA) over the past few weeks. 

The HSBC EGA is currently offering a promotional interest rate of up to 4.85% p.a. on your savings, and the offer is only valid if you hold an eligible account by 30 June 2023. 

This led to many questions about what the requirements are to earn the interest rate of 4.85% p.a., and if there is any catch to the promotion. 

Let us break down what is the interest rate on the HSBC EGA, and how you can qualify for the higher interest rates. 

What you need to know about the HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA)

#1 – What is HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA)?

The HSBC EGA is a multi-currency savings account where you can perform foreign currency transactions with it.

#2 – What is the interest rate on the HSBC EGA?

For starters, HSBC differentiates between customers in Premier and Personal Banking. For the purpose of this article, I will be focusing more on Personal Banking. 

If you sign up by 30 June 2023, you will earn an interest rate of 3.85% p.a. if you are a personal banking client. 

If you are a premier banking client, you will earn an interest rate of 4.05% p.a.

Yes, it is about 0.20% p.a. difference across the two categories! Essentially, most of us will be getting 3.85% p.a. on our deposit. 

Do you have to do anything else to earn the 3.85% p.a.? No. 

You must be thinking, wow this is too good to be true. Yes, you are right. This 3.85% p.a. sound really awesome BUT the bonus interest will only be paid for the months June and July 2023. 

That’s only a few more months to go. After that, the interest you would earn on the HSBC EGA could revert back to 0.05% p.a., as the bonus interest rate is subject to change. 

It might be worth noting that the top-up amount is compared against the reference month of May 2023. 

For example, if you have an average daily balance (ADB) of S$200,000 in June 2023 and ADB of S$50,000 in May 2023, the top-up amount will be S$150,000. 

Also do note that the above bonus interest rate is applicable to a maximum top-up amount of S$2 million.

The bonus interest will only be paid out by September 2023, after all the conditions are met. 

#3 - How to earn an additional ‘1% bonus interest rate’ on the HSBC EGA Account

You might be wondering, 3.85% p.a. is nowhere near the advertised interest rate of 5.05% p.a. Where is the 1% p.a.? 

Aside from the 3.85% p.a. bonus interest rate, the EGA is also paying ‘additional 1% bonus interest rate’ on the incremental SGD average daily balances under the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme.

To differentiate from the bonus interest rate above, we shall call this the ‘additional 1% bonus interest rate’ in this article.

To qualify, you would need to perform the following:

• Make at least 5 eligible transactions with your EGA, such as GIRO bill payments, fund transfers and/or using your Everyday Global Debit Card or any HSBC Credit Card
• Deposit at least S$2,000 into your HSBC Everyday Global Account every month

Here, I want to stress and highlight that this 'additional 1% bonus interest rate’ paid is on the incremental SGD average daily balance. 

You will earn the 'additional 1% bonus interest rate’ on your top-up amount for each calendar month when you meet the criteria above. 

Note that the top-up amount here is the increase in average deposit balance due to fresh funds compared to the previous month. 

For those who are wondering, ‘fresh funds’ means a deposit of funds from outside of HSBC into the Eligible Account. Transfers from existing HSBC bank deposit accounts or via HSBC cheque(s), cashier’s order(s) or demand draft(s) are not permitted.

There is a max cap of S$300 to be earned per calendar month for this ‘additional 1% bonus interest’. 

Once again, do take note that the criteria differs for HSBC Premier and Personal Banking Customers. The criteria shown above is meant for Personal Banking Customers only. 

Premier customers would need to deposit at least S$5,000 and make a minimum of 5 transactions.

#4 - Earn cashback through the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme

You can earn a cashback of 1% on eligible card spend on selected HSBC Credit Cards, HSBC Everyday Global Debit Card and GIRO bill payments.

Do note that there are exclusions to the above e.g. your usual insurance, utilizes, educational institutions payments. You can refer to the T&C link for the full list. 

Here, I want to point out that there is also a cap on the cashback you are getting.

It is S$300 per calendar month for HSBC Personal Banking customers and S$500 for Premier customers. 

#5 - One-time bonus cash reward for new HSBC Everyday+ Rewards programme customers

For the “newbies”, you stand to earn a one-time bonus cash reward of S$150 when you sign up for a new account.  

Note that there is a catch here. You will need to maintain a deposit of S$100,000 for the first six consecutive month for Personal Banking clients, before the cash reward is paid on the 7^th month. 

The minimum deposit required for this cash reward is higher at S$200,000 for Premier banking clients, but customers who are eligible will receive S$300 as a welcome reward. 

As the interest rates shared above only last till July 2023, while the one-time bonus cash reward is only paid out if the minimum deposit is maintained for six month, this one-time bonus cash reward SHOULD NOT be the reason why you sign up for this account. 

What else do I need to do to be eligible for the HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA) promotion?

To be eligible for the HSBC EGA promotion, both new and existing HSBC customers must successfully register by sending an SMS with the relevant info in the following format to 74722 within the promotional period:

EGA <space> First 9-digit of their Everyday Global Account number (e.g. EGA 123456789)

Final verdict on the HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA)

Overall, the HSBC EGA allows you to earn a pretty impressive interest rate of 3.85% p.a. with limited conditions that are required to be fulfilled. 

However, the catch is that the bonus interest rate will only be paid for the months of June and July. 

It is also worth noting that the ‘additional 1% bonus interest’ only applies to fresh funds for each month.

Hence, the HSBC EGA account may be more suited for individuals who are looking for an additional savings account beyond the one used for salary credit to earn a higher interest rate for a few months. 

As there are numerous conditions that come with each of the bonus rewards, it is recommended that you go through the terms and conditions here and here carefully. 

This is especially so given that the bonus interest rate will only be paid in September, so you may not be able to find out if you have missed out on some eligibility criteria in the meantime. 

If you are interested in the HSBC EGA, you can find out more here. 

For those who have more questions, you can ask one of the gurus in Beansprout’s Telegram group.

You may also find out which bank account offers the highest interest rate using Beansprout’s Cash Optimiser tool.