Power of Attorney Details for HSBC Bank Canada Clients

Power of Attorney Details for HSBC Bank Canada Clients

Understand the changes impacting how you and your attorney can access your account(s) once your HSBC Bank Canada and HSBC Investment Funds (Canada) Inc. products and services have migrated to Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Royal Mutual Funds Inc. respectively.

If you have or are appointed as an attorney for property or Trading Authority on an HSBC InvestDirect account, migrating to RBC Direct Investing or an HSBC Private Investment Counsel account migrating to RBC Philips Hager & North Investment Counsel Ltd., there may be different processes. Please visit the relevant FAQs below for further information. Please continue to revisit this site as updates will be provided as they become available.

Account Access for Clients (Donors) and Attorneys

If you have appointed an attorney on your HSBC Bank Canada account(s), there will be changes in how your account(s) are accessed once your products and services have migrated to RBC.

What You Can Expect Before and After Migration

  • You will receive an RBC Client Card (debit card) before the migration to RBC.
  • This card provides account access through any RBC Branch, ATMs, online, mobile and telephone banking after migration.
  • Only one RBC Client Card will be issued to you so your attorney will not receive a card and will not have access to services associated with your RBC Client Card. You will be able to enroll in RBC Online Banking and the RBC Mobile app banking.
  • Your pre-authorized payments and registered bill payments will automatically migrate to RBC for your Everyday Banking account(s).

As the client donor, no action is needed if you wish to maintain access to your account(s) through ATMs and online, mobile and telephone banking.

What Your Attorney Can and Can’t Do After Migration

  • They will be able to transact on the client’s accounts at any RBC branch after migration.
  • They will not receive an RBC Client Card or have access to the client’s account(s) through ATMs or online, mobile and telephone banking.
  • Limited telephone banking services such as registered bill payments will be available.
  • After migration, you and/your attorney (as applicable) may take certain steps set out below to change the RBC Client Card access:
     
    - If you are capable of managing your financial affairs but you would like your attorney to have full access to ATMs, Online, Mobile or Telephone banking, you will need to make an appointment with an RBC Advisor, with your attorney, to provide consent to transfer your client card access and associated services.
     
    - If you are an attorney for an incapable client and require a client card and full access to ATMs, Online, Mobile or Telephone banking, you will need to make an appointment with an RBC Advisor to transfer the Client Card access and associated services to you. You will be required to provide medical evidence of incapacity. If the client (donor) is incapable and a resident of Quebec, a Court approved Protection Mandate will need to be provided.
  • If you require a client card and access to ATMs, Online, Mobile or Telephone banking for the client; the client will be required to provide verbal consent during the appointment to transfer the client card access to the attorney.

As the attorney, please follow the steps below if you need full access to the client’s (donor) banking account(s) through ATMs and online, mobile and telephone banking.

Note: Until the migration to RBC is complete, please continue to bank at HSBC Bank Canada as you normally would.

Giving Your Attorney ATM, Online, Mobile and Telephone Banking Access

To transfer RBC Client Card access to your attorney and allow them to transact on your account(s) through ATMs and online, mobile and telephone banking, book an appointment—virtual or in-person—with your Relationship Manager or at any RBC branch after the migration to RBC.

What to Expect at the Appointment

    If you are managing your own financial affairs and would like to transfer your RBC Client Card access to your attorney
  • Both you and your attorney must be present (virtually or in-person).
  • You must provide consent during the appointment to transfer your RBC Client Card access from you to your attorney.
  • Your RBC Client Card will be cancelled, and a new RBC Client Card will be issued to your attorney.
    If an RBC Client Card is issued to your attorney, you will continue to have access to transact on your accounts at any RBC branch as well as limited telephone banking services (i.e. registered bill payments). It is important to note you will not have access to any of the services associated with the RBC Client Card including access to ATMS, online or mobile banking once the RBC client card is issued to the attorneyIf you are an attorney acting for a client (donor) who is incapable of managing their financial affairs:
  • Only you as the attorney must be present at the appointment. The client (donor), is not required to be present.
  • You will be required to provide medical evidence of incapacity. If the client (donor) is incapable and a resident of Quebec, a Court approved Protection Mandate will also need to be provided.
  • A new RBC Client Card will be issued to you, the attorney, which will give access to the services associated with the RBC Client Card including full access to ATMs, online, mobile and telephone banking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please explore the list below:

  • Reasonable efforts will be made to migrate your power of attorney information you provided to HSBC Bank Canada or any HSBC bank-form POA you completed. This includes multiple attorneys and any substitute decision-maker information.
  • If required, we may contact you and/or your attorney to update information on file, including providing consent for RBC to continue to rely on the HSBC Canada power of attorney documents.
  • At RBC, one client card is issued for accounts even where an attorney has been appointed. You (as donor) will be mailed an RBC client card ahead of the migration, enabling you to access ATMs, online mobile or telephone banking after the migration. Your attorney(s) will not have access to your accounts using their own RBC client card after migration. You can enroll in our online and mobile banking services once you receive your RBC Client Card.If an attorney requires services associated with your (donor) RBC Client Card, schedule an appointment (virtual or in-person) with an RBC Advisor at any RBC Branch or your relationship manager after the migration to RBC to transfer the client card access from you to your attorney. It is advised to schedule the appointment with the branch where the physical POA documents reside (where available) and bring a copy of the POA document with you to the appointment for quicker servicing.
  • You and your attorney must be present at the appointment.
  • If you want your attorney to have access to your accounts with a client card and access to ATMs, Online, mobile or telephone banking, you will be required to provide consent during the appointment to transfer the client card access from you to your attorney.
  • If an RBC Client Card is transferred from you to your attorney, you may continue to access and transact on your accounts at any RBC branch but will not have access to ATM, online, mobile or telephone banking.
  • If you have appointed an attorney on your HSBC Bank Canada account(s), there will be a change in the access to your accounts. Prior to the migration to RBC, an RBC client card will be mailed to you (the client) which will enable you to transact, have access to ATMs, online, mobile, and telephone banking. Your attorney will not receive an RBC client card. However, they will be able to perform certain transactions for you on your accounts at any RBC branch or through telephone banking.
  • If you require your attorney to have additional access to services, schedule an appointment (virtual or in-person) with an RBC Advisor at an RBC branch or with your relationship manager after migration to RBC to transfer your RBC client card access from you to the attorney. Both you and your attorney must be present at the appointment. It is advised to schedule the appointment with the branch where the physical POA documents reside and bring a copy of the POA document with you to the appointment for quicker servicing.
  • If you want your attorney to have an RBC client card and access to ATMs, online, mobile or telephone banking, you will be required to provide consent during the appointment to transfer your RBC client card access from you to your attorney.
  • If an RBC client card is issued to your attorney, you will continue to have access to transact on your accounts at any RBC branch but you will not have access to ATM, online or mobile banking after the client card is transferred to your attorney.
  • If you prefer to maintain access to your RBC client card, which will allow you access to ATMs, online mobile and telephone banking, no action is required. After migration, your attorney will be able to transact at any RBC branch or by telephone banking for limited services such as registered bill payments.
  • If you and/or your attorney, are residing outside of Canada or living in a remote region and need to make changes to your RBC Client Card or access to your accounts, schedule an appointment (virtual or in-person) with an RBC Advisor at an RBC branch or with your relationship manager after migration to RBC.
  • If you are an acting attorney under a POA for an HSBC Bank Canada client, nothing will change until after migration. After the migration to RBC, you will still be able to transact (pay bills, account transfers, etc.) on behalf of, and in the best interest of the client, in-branch at any of RBC’s 1,100+ branches and HSBC branches rebranded to RBC across Canada.
  • Before the migration, the client (i.e., donor) will receive a client card to enable access to ATMs, online, mobile and telephone banking. After the migration to RBC, either the client or the attorney can have a client card for access to ATMs, Online, Mobile or Telephone banking, but a client card is not issued to both of you.
  • If you require additional access to services (i.e., client card, ATMs, online, mobile or telephone banking), schedule an appointment (virtual or in-person) with your relationship manager or at any RBC branch after migration to RBC to transfer the client card access from the client (i.e. donor) to you, the attorney. Both you and the client (i.e. donor) must be present at the appointment. It is advised to schedule the appointment with the branch where the physical POA documents reside and bring a copy of the POA document with you to the appointment for quicker servicing.
  • If you are an attorney acting for a client that is incapable of managing their own financial affairs, please refer to the FAQ below.
  • After the client’s HSBC Bank Canada products and services have migrated to RBC, you will be able to transact on behalf of the client at any of the 1,100+ RBC branches across Canada as well as former HSBC Bank Canada branches that have been rebranded to RBC.
  • To obtain full access to the client’s account(s) through ATMs or online, mobile and telephone banking, you will need to schedule an appointment (virtual or in-person) with an RBC advisor at an RBC branch or with your relationship manager after migration to RBC to transfer the client card access from the client to you. It is advised to schedule the appointment with the branch where the physical POA documents reside and bring a copy of the POA document with you to the appointment for quicker servicing.
  • At the appointment, you must present medical evidence of incapacity of the client. If the client is a resident of Quebec, you must also present a Court approved Protection Mandate.
  • The client’s RBC Client Card will be cancelled, and a new card will be re-issued to you under the client’s name with “POA” added to the name. This card will give you full access to the client’s account(s) through ATMs and online, mobile and telephone banking.
  • Before the migration to RBC, nothing changes with how you and your attorneys can access and transact on an HSBC Bank Canada account.
  • After the migration to RBC, if you need assistance with a time-sensitive request, please visit the former HSBC Bank Canada branch where the power of attorney documents are held (where available). Post migration, your attorney will still be able to transact (pay bills, make same ownership account transfers and more) on behalf of clients by telephone banking or in-branch even if your attorney does not have a client card, at any of the 1,100+ RBC branches across Canada as well as former HSBC Bank Canada branches that have been rebranded to RBC.
  • Should you have any questions or require an appointment, please contact your relationship manager or call us at 1-800 769-2503.
  • Please also continue to review this page for any updates.

 

RBC Direct Investing FAQs:

    A) What steps do I need to take to get online access to the client’s (donor) new account at RBC Direct Investing?
  • Up until March 28, 2024 you can enrol in RBC Online Banking using your existing HSBC online banking credentials. You will be asked to create a username in the RBC platform that you will use when you login on the platform going forward.
  • After March 28, 2024, you will require a 16 digit RBC client number to enrol in RBC Online Banking.
    B) I am an existing HSBC Bank client. How/where can I obtain a 16 digit RBC client number?
  • If you receive an RBC debit card as an incoming RBC Bank personal client, the 16 digit number on your RBC debit card is your RBC client number. In the event that you do not receive an RBC debit card, a 16 digit RBC client number will be sent to you by mail.
  • You can also visit: rbc.com/hsbc-canada-enrol for details on how to enrol in RBC Online Banking and the RBC Mobile app.
  • Follow the instructions on the webpage linked above to enrol, or scan the QR code on the letter you receive with your 16 digit RBC client number. Type in your RBC debit card number of RBC client number when you are asked for a client card number to enrol.
  • For RBC Direct Investing clients, if you choose to enrol in the RBC Mobile app, please sign in to Personal and Business Banking.

 

RBC Phillips, Hager & North Investment Counsel Inc. FAQs:

    A) Will the power of attorney information on the client’s (donor) account migrate to RBC?
  • Yes, existing power of attorney information on client (donor) HSBC Private Investment Counsel account(s) will automatically be migrated to RBC Phillips, Hager & North Investment Counsel.
    B) What steps do I need to take to get online access to the client’s (donor) new account at RBC Phillips Hager & North Investment Counsel Ltd.?
  • If you already have existing online access at HSBC as an attorney for property, then you will automatically be provided with on-line access at RBC Phillips, Hager & North Investment Counsel.
  • Contact your/the client’s Investment Counselling team for any online access issues, and/or if you require assistance with navigating the site.
  • The client’s (donor) Investment Counselling team will provide you with a login and temporary password to the Wealth Management On-line platform at RBC Phillips, Hager & North Investment Counsel after March 28, 2024.
  • Contact the client’s (donor) Investment Counselling team for any on-line access issues and navigation inquiries.

Need Assistance?

We’re here to help. If you have questions or need to book an appointment, please:

Please refer to this page in the future for the latest updates.