Cookie Policy

We respect the privacy of visitors on our website (the “Site”) and our Cookie Policy is meant to provide clear and comprehensive information about the cookies we use, the purpose for using them, and how to manage your cookies.

This Cookie Policy should be read together with the Terms and Conditions governing your use of the Site. For ease of reference, the same definitions used in the Terms and Conditions are adopted in this Cookie Policy.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are sent to and stored on your computer, smartphone or other electronic device whenever you visit a website in order to distinguish you from other users. They are used for a variety of reasons, such as to improve the functionality and performance of this Site. Cookies allow us to tailor the content of the Site to suit your interests and let you navigate between pages efficiently.

We use cookies to protect the security of the Site, for example, to help you log on to secure areas of the Site and to make sure the Site is only accessed by genuine users. To do this, we may use an encrypted persistent cookie installed on your device that contains information to verify you as our customer and to help block unauthorized attempts to gain access. We also use cookies to help us identify suspicious behaviour on our Site so we can protect both you and us from fraud.

Cookies cannot view or capture files or information stored on your computer. All personal information collected by us is always carried out in accordance with our Privacy notice.

We use the following cookies on this Site:

  • Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the Site and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the Site.
  • Performance Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use the Site, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how our Site works.
  • Functionality Cookies: These cookies allow the Site to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features.
  • Targeting Cookies or Advertising Cookies: These cookies are used to deliver advertisements more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaigns.

For a detailed description of the cookies that we use on this Site, please see list of “cookies we use”.

More information about cookies can be found on www.allaboutcookies.org.

Cookies that support marketing

We and our partners use cookies to understand what you’re interested in on our Site and on social media. These cookies may also identify which other websites may have directed you to our Site. This is so we or our partners can personalise our marketing to you. You can change your mind on how you receive certain types of marketing messages or choose to stop receiving them at any time. You can find more details about this in our Privacy notice.

Of course, you may see HSBC-branded advertisements when browsing other companies' websites too. Some of these will be general campaign-related adverts but others will be tailored to your interests based upon previous web browsing activity. These advertisements can be easily identified as they feature a small blue AdChoices icon in the corner of the advert.

When we include links to third party websites, they will have their own privacy and cookie policies that will govern the use of any information you submit. We recommend you read their policies as we are not responsible or liable for any third party's privacy practices.

Consent

By continuing to browse this Site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. We also request your consent on the banner displayed to you the first time you visit our Site. You may consent to our use of cookies by clicking ‘Close’ or by continuing to browse this Site.

If you do not wish to give consent or wish to withdraw your consent at any time, you will need to delete, and block or disable cookies via your browser settings; see below for more information on how to do this. Please note that disabling these cookies will affect the functionality of this Site and may prevent you from being able to access certain features on this Site.

How you can manage your cookies

The browsers of most computers, smartphones and other web-enabled devices are typically set up to accept cookies. If you do not want your information collected or used for advertising or marketing purposes via cookies, you can change how cookies will be placed on your device when you visit our Site by changing the settings on your browser. These settings are usually found in the ‘options’ or ‘preferences’ menu of your browser.

You do not have to accept cookies however, please remember that cookies improve certain functions on our Site and provide a more tailored browsing experience. If you choose to switch certain cookies off, it is likely to affect how our Site works and you may not be able to access all or parts of our Site.

For more information about how to disable cookies, refer to your browser’s help guide or visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

Additional information may be found here:

Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC): http://youradchoices.ca/

Network Advertising Initiative (NAI): http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/

How long the cookies will remain on your computer

A “session cookie” is a temporary cookie which remains in the cookie file of your browser until you close the browser. Once you close the browser, all session cookies are deleted. Its main purpose is to link the actions of a user during the browser session.

A “persistent cookie” will remain in the cookie file of your browser after the closing of the browser, and will become active again when you revisit the Site. These cookies have different expiration dates. Following expiry of a cookie, a new version of that cookie will be downloaded when you next visit the Site, unless you have withdrawn your consent in the meantime.

More about your privacy

To find out more about how HSBC protects your privacy when using our Site, see our Terms and Conditions and Privacy notice.