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Privacy statement

Table of contents

Our privacy principles

HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited is committed to preserving the confidentiality of all personal data you provide to us. We have therefore adopted privacy principles as a critical component of our relationship with you. The following privacy principles apply:

  • we only collect information that we believe to be relevant and required to understand your financial needs and to conduct our business
  • we use your information to provide you with better customer services and products
  • we may pass your information to sister companies within the HSBC Group. We will not disclose your information to any external organisation unless we have your consent or are required by law.
  • we may be required from time to disclose your information to governmental or judicial bodies or agencies or our regulators, but we will only do so under proper authority
  • we aim to keep your information up-to-date. We maintain strict security systems designed to prevent unauthorised access to your information by anyone, including our staff.
  • we will retain your information in accordance with our legal and regulatory obligations
  • all HSBC Group companies, all our staff and all third parties with access to your information are specifically required to observe our confidentiality obligations

Web beacons and spotlight tags

The HSBC Bermuda website may contain electronic images, known as web beacons or spotlight tags. These enable HSBC to count users who have visited certain pages on our website. Web beacons and spotlight tags are simply tools used to obtain generic information about the web pages visited. They are not used to obtain information about specific users.

Website privacy notice

Hello. Nice to see you here.

When you browse the web, you leave a digital footprint. It's information about your device and the way you use it online.

We just want to let you know that we'll collect this information about you. Most websites do this.

We use this information to deliver the website to you. We also use it for other things, which we think help you and us.

We've put this notice together to explain this. Don't worry. It takes a little over 7 minutes to read.

By the way, when we say 'we' this means the HSBC group of companies and our trusted partners who provide services to us.

These include our:

  • technology providers
  • cybersecurity companies
  • social media partners
  • advertising partners

Our Privacy Notices

This is our website notice.

We have other notices. Some of these may apply to you as well. It depends on how you choose to interact with us.

  • public website notice (you are here): This notice covers parts of this website where you don’t need a password (like this page)
  • full privacy notice: Our full privacy notice contains more information to read alongside this notice. It will tell you more details, such as the full company names of HSBC's data controllers. It also tells you how HSBC uses your personal information in general. You can read that on our privacy statement page.
  • cookie notice: This notice covers how we collect information from your web browser or mobile device
  • other notices: Some of our apps or parts of our websites have their own privacy notices. For example, our mobile apps have privacy notices. So does our careers section of our website.

You can usually find our notices in the footer of the webpage. If you're using an app, it will usually be in the menu. Our full privacy notice is our main one and can be found on our privacy statement page.

Personal information collected by this website

We collect information when you use our website. We also do this when you visit one of our social media sites.

When you view our website or social media sites, we can see:

  • what you click
  • what you view
  • how long you spend on pages
  • your device & internet connection details such as: type of device you're using, IP address and details about your internet connection, technical details such as your screen size and the software you're using, such as your web browser
  • your country or region (not exactly where you are unless we ask permission)
  • your unique advertising or other identification numbers allocated to your browser or device

If you follow a link to this website, we know the last site you visited. You may have reached this website by following a link from an e-mail. When you open an email from us, we may be able to tell:

  • that you've opened it
  • what links in the email you click on

When you fill in a form on our website, we can see what you type.

If you send us a message, we may collect information you tell us.

Some of this data is collected by:

Our partners: These may be website hosts or social media sites.

Cyber-security filtering technology: This keeps our website safe from fraud and crime.

Cookies and similar technology: These are set on your device by us and our trusted partners.

We don’t often know exactly who you are from this data. But sometimes we may connect this data with other information we hold about you. 

For example:

  • if you browse our website and then access online banking, we may connect this data to you. The next time you visit, we may still link that data to you
  • if you browse our website while logged into social media accounts, then our partners may be able to connect this data to those accounts

It might be possible to connect your browsing data to personal data held by third parties.

We use your data when it is in our legitimate interests.

This means we need to have a valid and lawful reason to use your data and balance this with your interests. 

How we use this personal information

To deliver the website

We use your information to operate the website and monitor how well it is working. Most websites do this. 

To improve our business

We use your information to:

  • understand how you use our services
  • view trends in product offerings
  • develop well targeted offers and products
  • find offers and products that may be of interest to you
  • make our services better for you
  • learn how useful our marketing is and make it better

Security & protection

We use your information to help protect you and ourselves against fraud or crime. For example, our service providers look at all use of our website to help block malicious activity. This helps keep you and us safe.

One of our security providers is Google ReCaptcha. Google asks us to tell you that this is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Personalising our website

When you visit our website, we may use data we collect to make the site reflect you. This could include:

  • tailoring our website content and services for you
  • showing your information or updates that might be useful for you
  • showing products or services that we think will be of interest to you

Online advertising

When we advertise online, we may share your information with our advertising partners.

We may ask our advertising partner to use that information to:

  • check if you hold an account with them
  • choose which adverts to send to you
  • send our adverts to you
  • exclude you from adverts, e.g. if the advert is for a service you already use
  • advertise to people who have a similar profile to you or share your interests
  • identify what other marketing may be of interest to you
  • understand how useful our marketing is and make it better

Social Media

HSBC uses social media to:

  • help connect with you
  • share information about our products and services
  • sometimes these involve using your data

Social media platforms may let you choose what advertising you receive. You should contact them for more information

Facebook

When you use an HSBC Page on Facebook, Facebook Ireland and HSBC collect information about you. This includes: 

  • what you click on: if you start a messenger conversation
  • what you view: when you hover over a link or have an event page on screen
  • what you say: like comments or reactions
  • your actions: like sharing or recommending
  • your activity: how long you spend on pages, date and time of actions or websites you visited before you took the action
  • your location: Country or region. This is not your precise location unless you have provided this in your user profile and you are logged-in
  • your device and internet connection
  • your Facebook profile details and user ID
  • HSBC has access to this information to use for reporting, insights and marketing purposes and so does Facebook
  • this helps HSBC improve our offering on Facebook and create better marketing. HSBC may also see this information if HSBC has communicated with you on Facebook. HSBC does this because it helps us know who we’re speaking to
  • if you've allowed us to use cookies that support our marketing, HSBC and Facebook can collect this information when you use HSBC’s site too. To learn more, or to switch this off, please visit our Cookies Notice. You can control which cookies you allow by selecting 'Manage Cookies'

Facebook Ireland

Facebook Ireland is a 'joint controller' with HSBC under the EU General Data Protection law for processing where we collect information about you:

  • from your actions on our Facebook page
  • through the Facebook pixel on our website

We and Facebook have agreed to share some responsibilities to protect your personal data, by:

  • making sure we each have a legal basis for joint processing
  • honouring your legal rights in respect of your data
  • ensuring security of joint processing

You can contact HSBC about how we do this. You can also contact Facebook about what they do. This includes exercising your legal rights in respect of the data Facebook collects and retains itself.

Further details of how Facebook processes your personal information, the legal basis it relies on, your rights and Facebook’s contact details can be found on Facebook's Data Policy page.

Other important information

We have a few more things to tell you.

  • transfers: We transfer your information outside of Bermuda and outside of the European Economic Area. If this happens your information may not have the same level of protection
  • security: We'll use a range of measures to keep your information safe and secure, such as encryption
  • storage: We keep your information in line with our data retention policy. We do this to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, and for our legitimate purposes

Our full privacy notice contains more information about these topics.

This privacy notice may be updated from time to time, and you’ll always be able to find the most recent version on this site.

App privacy notice

HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited (‘HSBC’) collects, uses and shares information about you so that it can provide you with a bank account and related services. This App Privacy Notice explains how HSBC collects, uses and shares your information when you use this app, including information about the device that the app is installed on e.g. your mobile phone or tablet. You can find full information in our main main privacy notice.

This app is provided by HSBC Global Services (UK) Limited for and on behalf of HSBC, and all products and services accessed via this app are provided by HSBC.

You can contact us via this website where you can chat to us Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm or by telephone at +1 441 295 4000. We use a range of measures to keep your information safe and secure which may include encryption and other forms of security. We require our staff and any third parties who carry out any work on our behalf to comply with appropriate compliance standards including obligations to protect any information and applying appropriate measures for the use and transfer of information.

We’ll keep your information in line with our data retention policy. For example, we’ll normally keep your main banking information for a period of seven years from when our relationship with you ends. This allows us to comply with legal and regulatory requirements or use it where we need to for our legitimate purposes such as managing your account and dealing with any disputes or concerns that may arise. We may need to keep your information for longer where we need the information to comply with regulatory or legal requirements, help detect or prevent fraud and financial crime, answer requests from regulators etc.  If we don’t need to keep information for this length of time, we may destroy, delete or anonymise it sooner.

This section explains what information HSBC collects from your device, how it uses it, and whether it shares it. In some cases, e.g. when accessing the contacts stored on your device, or photos that you take with your device, HSBC will first ask your permission. HSBC may share your information with other HSBC group companies and any sub-contractors, agents or service providers who work for us or other HSBC group companies (including their employees, sub-contractors, service providers, directors and officers) to provide you with products or services that you ask for (such as bank accounts and payments) and as explained in our main privacy notice - this type of data sharing is not included here.

Permissions for devices:
Location Your approximate location can be used to prevent fraud when you’re using the HSBC app.
Device information and internet access This allows us check if you have a working internet connection.
Biometric information This allows you to use biometrics authentication (like fingerprints or facial recognition) to logon to our app. If you do so, we rely on your device’s technology to authenticate you and we do not collect or store your underlying biometric data.
Permissions for devices:
Location Device information and internet access
Your approximate location can be used to prevent fraud when you’re using the HSBC app. This allows us check if you have a working internet connection.
Location Biometric information
Your approximate location can be used to prevent fraud when you’re using the HSBC app. This allows you to use biometrics authentication (like fingerprints or facial recognition) to logon to our app. If you do so, we rely on your device’s technology to authenticate you and we do not collect or store your underlying biometric data.
Permission specific to iOS devices:
App tracking transparency This allows you to grant us the permission to track your activities across other companies’ apps and websites (versions iOS 14.0 and above only).
Permission specific to iOS devices:
Permission specific to Android devices:
Application permission This allows Google Play Store to record where you downloaded the HSBC app from.
Permission specific to Android devices:

Tools

Our app includes tools that collect information about your device and the way you use it online to:

  • allow you to log on to our app
  • provide our app's core services and features, and measure their performance
  • protect the security of our app, for example, to make sure the app is only accessed by genuine users
  • help us to identify suspicious behaviour on our app so we can protect both you and us from fraud
  • ensure our app's optional features and services work, which may include both allowing us to customise what you see on our app and where based on what we know about you, and also helping to prevent fraud and maintain security on other apps, websites or services that you haven't asked to use when you're on our app
  • enable us to understand how you use our app, so that we can improve how our app works, e.g. by using analytics providers to identify and count uses of our app and to see which pages people go to and what they do there, and
  • understand what you're interested in on our app and on social media, and potentially identify what directed you to our app, so that so we or our partners can personalise our marketing to you

Some of these tools are provided to us by external service providers and third parties.

Disclosure

Issued by HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited, of 37 Front Street, Hamilton Bermuda, which is licensed to conduct Banking and Investment Business by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

Listening to what you have to say about our services matters to us.