No Stamps, No Envelopes, Now… No Fee!; HSBC to Eliminate Charges for Its Personal Internet Banking Bill Pay Service

Business Wire, Sept 8, 2003

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 2003

HSBC Bank USA today announced that, effective September 14, 2003, it will make its Personal Internet Banking Bill Pay service free for all customers.

The Bill Pay service, which is available 24 hours a day, allows customers to pay virtually all their bills and make payments to anyone in the United States -- all online, without checks, stamps or trips to the post office.

Bill Pay customers who did not have a qualifying HSBC relationship had previously been paying $5.95 per month for the service. Customers will see this change reflected in their October checking account statement.

"Bill Pay is an extremely popular service and we wanted to remove any barriers to having customers and potential customers use it," said John Camp, Senior Vice President and Manager of personal e-business. "We believe that free Bill Pay offers HSBC a competitive advantage in attracting new customers to the bank as well as providing another value-added service to our existing customers."

HSBC introduced its Internet banking service in April 2000 and currently has nearly 500,000 personal Internet banking customers.

About HSBC Bank USA

HSBC Bank USA has more than 400 branches in New York State, giving it the most extensive branch network in New York. The bank also has nine branches in Florida, two in Pennsylvania, five in California, one in Washington, one in Oregon, and 15 in Panama.

HSBC Bank USA is the principal subsidiary of HSBC USA Inc, 13th largest US bank holding company ranked by assets, and an indirectly held, wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HBC). Headquartered in London, and with over 9,500 offices in 79 countries and territories, the HSBC Group is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations.