Confirmed: RBC acquires the activities of HSBC Bank Canada

To the point The Minister of Finance approves the acquisition of HSBC Canada by RBC for $13.5 billion and the transaction will be completed in early 2024.

The transaction HSBC card withdrawals as of October 13, 2023 Credit Cards Bottom Line

RBC and HSBC Canada - The transaction

*** Update January 16, 2024: HSBC credit and debit cardholders will be transitioning in the coming weeks. Completion is scheduled for late March 2024. For complete transition details, please read the HSBC Canada to RBC Transition Guide.

It’s confirmed!

RBC to buy HSBC Canada division for $13.5 billion. RBC and HSBC Canada can now ensure a smooth transition for customers and employees of both financial institutions. The Canadian government website provides information that may be of interest to you if you have HSBC Rewards points:

Unless otherwise specified, RBC will do the following for four years, beginning on the closing date of the acquisition:

Provide information to all HSBC clients about their credit cards at least 60 days before the closing date. Specifically, RBC will inform HSBC clients that:

RBC will offer them credit cards that have substantially similar benefits to those that they held with HSBC, including fee structures; and,

RBC will convert any HSBC clients’ unused rewards points on the acquisition closing date into RBC rewards points of a substantially similar value.

Not to interfere with the continued use of credit cards issued by HSBC, including the collection, redemption, or transfer of any rewards points associated with those cards, up until the closing of the acquisition.

This means that HSBC Rewards points will be converted into RBC Avion Rewards points with “a substantially similar value”.

We think the conversion ratio should be around 2 HSBC Rewards points = 1 RBC Avion Rewards point.

Further details will be released in the coming weeks (and at least 60 days before the closing of the acquisition). This will give you time to redeem your HSBC Rewards points(for a travel credit or by transferring them to other rewards programs) or to let them convert to RBC Avion Rewards.

With HSBC Canada, RBC will further position itself with certain clients with wealth management needs such as :

International customers
Newcomers

HSBC has 130 branches in Canada and 4,200 employees (including 450 in Quebec).

In comparison, RBC has 65,000 full-time employees in Canada.

A few months ago, HSBC announced that it was looking for a buyer for its Canadian branch, HSBC Canada. And RBC Bank won the bid for $13.5 billion.

RBC and HSBC Canada - HSBC card withdrawals as of October 13, 2023

Since October 13, 2023, HSBC has closed off applications for new credit cards. We will update this article with news from RBC and HSBC for existing customers.

If you haven’t been lucky enough to get the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®, especially to benefit from a credit card with no conversion fees, there’s nothing left to do but turn to one of these Scotiabank credit cards:

Below is the original article announcing this acquisition on November 29, 2022:

RBC and HSBC Canada - Credit Cards

HSBC offers several Mastercard credit cards:

HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®
HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard^®
HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard^®
HSBC +Rewards Mastercard

On the RBC Bank side, it’s more about Visa credit cards. However, RBC also issues some Mastercard credit cards, such as :

Two cards that can be compared between the two institutions are the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card and the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®.

These are the flagship products of both banks. They are both part of a transferable points reward program:

In fact, these programs have common partners such as British Airways Executive Club and Asia Miles. This may already suggest synergies between RBC and HSBC.

However, the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® takes the lead over the RBC credit card on three counts:

Point accumulation (6 points per dollar for travel purchases and 3 points everywhere else)
No conversion fees for foreign currency transactions
It is a Mastercard (accepted at Costco)

Bottom Line

If you have HSBC Rewards points, they will be converted to a similar value in the RBC Avion Rewards program.

In all cases, you will be notified at least 60 days before the acquisition closing date of any changes that will be made to the features of your HSBC Credit Card or HSBC Rewards program. Don’t hesitate to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure you don’t miss a thing!