Standard Chartered (Hong Kong) Bank Time Deposit Account review

This article will review Standard Chartered’s time deposit accounts.

We will look at the positives and negatives associated with the accounts, although it remains our position to in an era of 0% interest rates, saving money in the bank doesn’t make sense.

If you want to invest as an expat or high-net-worth individual, you can email me (advice@adamfayed.com) or use these contact options.

Introduction:

Standard Chartered bank – ‘Standard Chartered PLC’ is a British company that provides multinational banking as well as financial services. Its headquarters is located in ‘London, England’ and is known to have over 1026 branches and 85000 employees across 125 countries.

Standard Chartered Bank is a reputable bank, which is well-known for the banking and financial services that it provides to the customers. 

The major services offered by this bank are ‘Consumer Banking’, ‘Corporate Banking’, ‘Investment banking’, ‘Private banking’, ‘Mortgages’, ‘Credit Cards’ and ‘Wealth Management’.

It is listed on 2 of Asia’s largest exchanges and is one of the companies among the top 100 largest companies listed on the LSE (London Stock Exchange).

In spite of being based in the UK, it does not provide retail banking services in the UK. Most of the profits (around 90%) are said to be obtained from Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

It was, however, started out as a collaboration of two banks namely ‘Standard Bank’ and ‘Chartered Bank’. 

Chartered Bank was the first of the two banks and was founded in the year 1853 by ‘James Wilson’ along with a royal charter that has been granted by ‘Queen Victoria’.

The first branches of this bank were opened in the year 1858 in ‘Mumbai’, ‘Kolkata’ and ‘Shanghai’. Following that, in 1859, branches were opened in ‘Singapore’ and ‘Hong Kong’.

On the other hand, Standard Bank was founded in the year 1862 by a person called ‘John Paterson’ in the ‘Cape Province of South Africa’. 

In the year 1969, both the banks decided to merge and grow together in the Europe and United States as well. Hence, Standard Chartered Bank was formed and was able to provide its services to even more countries.

Standard Chartered Hong Kong – ‘Standard Chartered Hong Kong’, which is also known by the name of ‘Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited,’ is a licensed commercial bank and financial service provider incorporated in Hong Kong.

It is one of the three banks in Hong Kong that is licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority for issuing banknotes for the Hong Kong dollar. It has been in the activity of issuing banknotes since the 1860s.

The first branch was opened on 19 July 1859, which was 166 years ago. On 1^st July 2004, Standard Chartered completed the local incorporation of the Hong Kong businesses as the Hong Kong branch of:

• Standard Chartered Bank 
• Manhattan Card Company Ltd
• Standard Chartered International Trade Products Ltd
• Standard Chartered Finance Ltd
• Chartered Corporation Ltd

The headquarters of Standard Chartered Hong Kong is the ‘Standard Chartered Bank Building, Central, Hong Kong’.

Before getting to the main issue (Time deposit Account Review), let us talk about other services offered in order to know what services a customer can expect while banking with the Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong).

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Services:

There are two types of services provided at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) depending on the type of customer, which Individual Banking Services and Business Banking Services.

First of all, let us have a brief look at Business Banking Services. We will just see about the services provided because we will be primarily focusing on the Individual Banking services (Time Deposit Account) today.

Business Banking – Business Banking Services, they provide ‘Cash Management Solution’, ‘Lending Solution’, ‘Market Insight’, and ‘Investment Solution’. 

Individual Banking – Individual Banking Services offered at Standard Chartered Hong Kong are ‘Account & Deposits’, ‘Credit Cards’, ‘Loans’, ‘Mortgages’, ‘Investments’, ‘Insurance’ and ‘MPF (Mandatory Provident Fund)’.

Accounts & Deposits – We will cover the topic of Time Deposit Accounts last but first, let us have a look at the Savings and Current Accounts offered to the Individual Banking customers at Standard Chartered Hong Kong. 

‘Savings Accounts’ – There are 2 types of Savings Accounts at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, they are ‘Salary Bonus Pack’ and ‘Integrated Deposits Account’. 

1. Salary Bonus Pack – This can be said as a good salary account. By availing of the payroll services of Salary Bonus Pack, people can be able to enjoy additional benefits. They are:

• Promotional Savings Interest rate for new customers, which is 1.00% (p.a.) HKD promotional savings for up to 9 months.

• Benefits of either up to 7000 Asia Miles or HKD 700 Cash Rebate.

• Extra rewards for the FX membership program.

• A Welcome Offer of Standard Chartered Credit Card.

• Same day salary credit when the employer pays the customer, regardless of the bank used by the employer.

In order to apply for the Salary Bonus Pack, individuals are required to submit their Identity Proof as well as their Address proof.

2. Integrated Deposits Account – With the help of this account, individuals are able to deposit money into their current or savings accounts in currencies such as HKD, RMB and many other foreign currencies.

Payments can be made digitally with the help of Internet Banking, Mobile Banking (SC Pay), Electronic Direct Debit Authorization, etc. ATM services as well as QR Cash Card-less withdrawal services are also available.

In order to open this account, there is some eligibility criteria. which is as follows:

• The person should be a new customer and should not have an already existing account or card at the Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited.

• The person should be 18 years or above and should hold a valid Hong Kong ID Card.

• They also should provide a valid phone number.

• This account should only be used for personal use purposes.

There are some additional benefits of having this account as well, they are:

• HKD200 cash rebate for the individuals who successfully create an account and complete the account setup via SC Mobile.

• Premium Banking Customers, who are new to this, are able to enjoy an HKD100 cash rebate upon successfully opening an account.

• All the benefits and services of Priority Banking/Premium Banking/Easy banking.

‘Current Accounts’ – There are two types of Current Accounts provided at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, they are ‘HKD Current Account’ and ‘USD and RMB Current Account’.

1. HKD Current Account – The HKD Current Account at the Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, gives access to a cheque book along with an advantage of no-bounce cheque protection.

Features of the HKD Current Account include:

• Autopay feature, which enables the user to make automatic payments.

• Overdraft Protection, which is beneficial for the user if the funds are insufficient during clearing cheques or autopay.

However, a minimum balance of HKD1,000 in order to open the HKD Current Account.

2. USD Current Account and RMB Current Account – It is an efficient current account for the individuals to handle their money, which is in the currencies of USD and RMB.

However, the overdraft protection feature is not available for the USD Current Account and the RMB Current Account.

Credit Cards – Credit Cards offered at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong are ‘Simply Cash Visa Card’, ‘Asia Miles Mastercard’, ‘Priority Banking Credit Card’ and ‘Platinum Credit Card’.

1. Simply Cash Visa Card – With this card, there can be a good amount of benefits for the customers with this card especially as cashback. Here are some of the features of this card:

• By spending money on some of the eligible transactions, customers are able to avail of a cashback of 25%, up to HKD1,000. However, this has to be done within the first two months.

• 1.5% cashback on spending money in local currency.

• 2.0% cashback on spending money in foreign currency.

• HKD100 cashback if a new customer successfully completes the signup process and log into their account within the first 2 months.

• Online Redemption platform, Visa PayWave, etc.

In order to acquire this card, a customer should have an age of at least 18 years or above and must be earning an annual income of HKD96,000 or more.

The documents that need to be submitted are ID Card, Address proof, 1 month’s computer-generated salary slip and 3 months digital bank statement.

The Annual Percentage Rate for retail purchases is 35.70% and there is also an annual fee of HKD2,000. Therefore, it is wise to take this into consideration before borrowing.

2. Asia Miles Credit Card – This is a credit card specialized for Travel & Living. Asia Miles program lets the customers redeem Asia Miles for Travel and Lifestyle benefits. The benefits provided to the customer with the Asia Miles Credit Card are as follows:

• Welcome offer of up to 40,000 Asia Miles, which is for an amount of HKD95,000 spent on eligible transactions, customers receive up to 40,000 Asia Miles (as low as HKD0.2 for 1 Asia Mile)

• HKD100 cashback for the new customers who sign up for online banking.

• For every HKD4 spent on selected categories, customers get 1 Asia Mile and for all other categories, 1Asia Mile will be awarded for every HKD6 spent.

• Asia Miles Flight rewards in the form of discounts.

• Discount on purchases for travel, rental, dining, etc., which can be up to 20%.

• A Contactless Visa card is provided.

The eligibility criteria, required documentation, Annual Percentage Rate and Annual Fee of Asia Miles Credit card are as same as that of Simply Cash Visa Card.

3. Priority Banking Credit Card – This type of credit card falls under the rewards category of credit cards. 

This comes with the Priority Banking Rewards program (up to 3 times rewards points), Airport Lounge Privileges, Airport Limousine privileges, Travel Accident Insurance, and many more benefits.

However, this card can only be acquired by Priority Banking Customers.

4. Platinum Credit Card – This is also a rewards-based credit card provided by the Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited. It also comes with great benefits.

Very low Monthly Fee, which is as low as 0.15% per month. A Welcome Offer of HKD600 cash rebate and HKD100 cashback for the customers who activate the online banking services. HKD200 cashback for opening account with the help of SC Mobile app or Online application form.

The eligibility criteria, required documentation, Annual Percentage Rate and Annual Fee of Asia Miles Credit card are as same as that of Simply Cash Visa Card and Asia Miles Credit Card.

Loans – At Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, a wide range of loans are available for the customers. They are Personal Instalment Loan, Debt Consolidation Program, Personal Line of Credit and Revolving Cash card.

For the existing cardholders at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, the loans that are especially available are the Instalment Credit program and Credit Card Statement Instalment Plan.

Mortgages – Different types of mortgages are available for the customers at Standard Chartered Hong Kong, which are Deposit Linked Mortgage, Mortgage $aver, Up to 90% Mortgage Plan, and HIBOR Mortgage Plan.

People can also make use of tools such as Property Valuation and Mortgage Calculator in order to get info on their mortgages.

Investments – Customers are able to invest money into various types of financial instruments with the help of Standard Chartered Hong Kong. 

The available investment opportunities are Investment Fund Services, Foreign Securities, Debt Securities Services, Wealth Financing, Securities Services and Equity Linked Investment Services. 

To make an investment process more convenient for the customers, there are various tools provide such as Latest Market Insights, Customer Investment Profiles, Use of Deposit-Related Information, Online Investment Account, Latest Investment Offers, etc.

Insurance – Under the general insurance category, there are Travel Insurance, Home Insurance, Personal Accident Insurance, Hospital Income Insurance, Cancer Protect cover and Medical & Other general Insurance.

There are also Retirement Planning, Wealth Accumulation & Legacy Planning, Savings & Protection, Critical Illness Insurance, Medical Care and Term Insurance.

MPF – Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) services at Standard Chartered Hong Kong are known to be quite effective and useful for the customer. Customers can enjoy up to HKD60,000 (tax-deductible limit) with the help of Tax-deductible Voluntary Contributions.

Having discussed all the essential services that a customer might want to obtain from a bank, let us now discuss the main topic of today, which is Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited’s Time Deposit Account. 

Time deposit account – Before we begin, A time deposit account is an account where an individual is required to deposit money for a certain period of time in order to gain more interest from it. 

The money deposited in a Time Deposit Account cannot be withdrawn by the individual until the Maturity Period is complete. It can also be referred to as ‘term deposit’ or ‘fixed deposit’.

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Time Deposit Account:

At Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), there are two types of Time Deposit Accounts. They are ‘HKD Time deposit’ and ‘Foreign Currency Time Deposit’. Let us have a detailed look at each of them individually.

HKD Time Deposit – HKD Time Deposit Account is specialized for the customers who are willing to earn more profits from their account than they usually obtain with the help of a traditional savings account.

Some of the main features of HKD Time Deposit Account at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited are:

• Higher interest rate when compared to a savings account.

• Customers can open an HKD Time Deposit Account for an amount as low as HKD10,000.

• Ability to choose from various tenures ranging from 1 week to 5 years.

Foreign Currency Time Deposit – This is the Time Deposit Account offered by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), with the help of which customers can make deposits using various types of currencies.

Some of the main features of Foreign Currency Time Deposit Account at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited are:

• The ability to choose from 8 types of currencies in order to make a deposit, which are AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, JPY, NZD and USD.

• The minimum account opening balance required is 2,000 in any currency, except for Yen, which is ¥200,000.

• Ability to choose from various tenures ranging from 1 week to 1 year.

General details of Time Deposit Accounts – This gives an individual access to make a deposit in 10 types of different currencies (both types together). 

The interest rates of the Time Deposit Accounts differ depending on the tenure and the amount that has been deposited.

In order to acquire a Time Deposit Account at Standard Chartered Hong Kong, individuals should qualify for certain eligibility criteria, which is:

• The client must either be a new customer at the bank or should not have had any Savings Account, Current Account, or Deposit Account over the last 12 months while submitting the online application.

• The client must have already declared their tax status or jurisdiction of tax residence (or both) in order to open a Time Deposit Account via SC Mobile app. 

There is a minimum amount as well as the maximum amount for the Time Deposit Accounts. The details of the minimum and maximum deposit amount for each type of currency are given in the table below.

Currency	Minimum Deposit Amount (in the original currency)	Maximum Deposit Amount (in the original currency)
HKD	30,000	2,000,000
USD	5,000	250,000
CNY	30,000	1,500,000
AUD	5,000	350,000
NZD	5,000	400,000
CAD	5,000	300,000
GBP	5,000	200,000
EUR	5,000	200,000
CHF	5,000	250,000
JPY	500,000	25,000,000

Interest Rates – The interest rates of some of the tenures for an amount equivalent to HKD100,000 in some of the currencies is given in the tables below:

In case of Individual clients with new funds:

Tenor	3 months	6 months	12 months
Interest rate (p.a.) HKD	0.35%	0.40%	0.40%
Interest rate (p.a.) USD	0.05%	0.05%	0.10%
Interest rate (p.a.) AUD	0.05%	0.10%	0.15%
Interest rate (p.a.) NZD	0.05%	0.10%	0.15%
Interest rate (p.a.) RMB	1.50%	1.60%	1.70%

For business clients with new funds:

Tenor	1 month	3 months	6 months	12 months
Interest rate (p.a.) HKD	0.15%	0.35%	0.40%	0.40%
Interest rate (p.a.) USD	0.05%	0.05%	0.05%	0.10%
Interest rate (p.a.) AUD	0.05%	0.05%	0.10%	0.15%
Interest rate (p.a.) NZD	0.05%	0.05%	0.10%	0.15%
Interest rate (p.a.) RMB	1.00%	1.50%	1.60%	1.70%

How to open a Time Deposit Account – People can be able to open an account via phone banking by contacting the bank between 9 AM to 4 PM from Monday to Friday. Public Holidays are excluded.

The account opening instructions received during the non-servicing hours would be processed during the next day.

Individuals are also able to open a Time Deposit Account with the help of Internet Banking or SC Mobile App as well. The process for opening a Time Deposit Account vias SC Mobile App is as follows:

• First of all, a person needs to download the SC Mobile app and login with their credentials.

• After that, they are required to select the Time Deposits option from the menu.

• After that, they have to select the currency, the deposit tenure and then enter the deposit amount.

• While selecting the tenure and deposit amount, people can choose the best option that suits them from the menu.

• After that, they would have to choose the account from which the amount needs to be deposited.

• This can be done with the help of a Current Account or a Savings Account at Standard Chartered (Hong Kong).

• The last and final step is to review and confirm all the details.

Pros – The advantages of Time Deposit Account are as follows:

• The ability to make a deposit in different types of currencies.

• Great banking Services.

• Ability to select a plan, which is beneficial to the customer.

Cons – The disadvantages of Time Deposit Account are as follows:

• The interest rates are very low when compared to many other competitors in this category. This is a major disadvantage.

• Sometimes issues require more than usual to be rectified by the Standard Chartered support team.

• Customer service is not as efficient as it should be.

Bottom Line:

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited is one of the most reputed banks and has been in the industry for many years. The banking services are good and people can be able to select a plan that suits them.

The most important thing is that the bank does not provide good interest rates to the customers when compared to most other banks, which is a major disadvantage. 

Because Interest Rate is the main aspect that people look for, while selecting a Time Deposit Account, it is suggested that customers can acquire a higher interest rate. 

The final verdict is that Standard Chartered Hong Kong is not a very efficient choice for the individuals when it comes to having a Time Deposit Account.

Some other banks that provide a good amount of interest for time deposit accounts in Hong Kong are ‘DBS Bank’, ‘Wing Lung Bank’, ‘Public Bank’, ‘Bank of East Asia’ etc.


Further Reading: St. James’s Place Review offers insights into financial planning options, similar to Standard Chartered (Hong Kong) Bank Time Deposit Account Review.