Credit card payment adventure

So, I tried to pay my credit card. Apparently, this is not a simple task with HSBC, because the card was new, I had to ‘set it up’ as a payee first. What follows are the instructions in full from HSBC chat, and then the credit card payment adventure that I went on!

Instructions for being able to do a credit card payment with HSBC

1. Choose the account you wish to make the payment from
2. Then select ‘Move money’.
3. From there choose ‘New Payee’ followed by ‘Payee Lookup’.
4. In the ‘Find a company’ box you can then type in the first 6 digits of your Credit Card number and select the option which matches the card type you have from the drop down.
5. Please select HSBC PREMIERXXXXXX from the drop down list.
6. Once you’ve chosen your card type, you need to enter your full 16 digit Credit Card number into the ‘Company reference’ field.
7. You should then enter the last 4 digits of the Credit Card number into your Secure Key when generating the transaction code.
8. Then confirm the payment and continue to pay your credit card bill successfully.

The real credit card payment experience for HSBC credit cards

1. Choose the account you wish to make the payment from, it wasn’t there, it was a minute ago, but now I can’t find it.
2. Contact online chat, and ask where my credit card account has gone
3. Discover there is a ‘process’ that runs between 10 and 11pm that means the card will disappear
4. Ask how on earth I can pay my credit card for several minutes
5. Find out that the credit card should be back
6. Log off online banking (as instructed)
7. Log back in through desktop, putting in the secure key via the mobile app (oh what joy…)
8. Now select the credit card as it has reappeared.
9. Then select ‘Move money’.
10. From there choose ‘New Payee’ followed by ‘Payee Lookup’.
11. In the ‘Find a company’ box you can then type in the first 6 digits of your Credit Card number. ‘Find a company’ – why the heck do I find a company…. I’m paying my Hsbc credit card from Hsbc, issued by Hsbc, and I’m a Hsbc customer, on their online banking, WTF?
12. … and select the option which matches the card type you have from the drop down.
13. Please select HSBC PREMIERXXXXXX from the drop down list. How would I know to do this?
14. Once you’ve chosen your card type, you need to enter your full 16 digit Credit Card number into the ‘Company reference’ field. WTF, what if I mistype it, HSBC already has this information, why am I typing it in?
15. Enter the amount to pay
16. Realise you can’t remember if it’s 6.41 or 6.14
17. Ask online chat person to confirm
18. Wait
19. Then wait
20. Until you’ve waited a bit more…
21. The secure code expires
22. Chat person explains need to check the balance myself
23. Exit / cancel and all information lost
24. Check balance, it was 6.14, doh my failing brain cells
25. Choose the account you wish to make the payment from
26. Then select ‘Move money’.
27. From there choose ‘New Payee’ followed by ‘Payee Lookup’.
28. In the ‘Find a company’ box you can then type in the first 6 digits of your Credit Card number and select the option which matches the card type you have from the drop down.
29. Remembered it the 2nd time!
30. Please select HSBC PREMIERXXXXXX from the drop down list. Remembered it the 2nd time!
31. Once you’ve chosen your card type, you need to enter your full 16 digit Credit Card number into the ‘Company reference’ field. Manually type… again! Arghhhh…. Typed it.
32. Check, and double check, darn it typo.
33. Retype the number in the company reference, company reference, WTF!? Why would my credit card number be a ‘company reference’?
34. Enter the amount to pay
35. You should then enter the last 4 digits of the Credit Card number into your Secure Key when generating the transaction code.
36. Then the confirmation screen appears, and asks me to confirm the information.
37. But the information doesn’t match what’s on my card!
38. I go to chat, and they explain it’s the internal card information shown, that only HSBC knows about. So right… I have to confirm information, that I have no idea is correct or not.
39. Take a leap of faith…..
40. And it’s done.
41. EPIC credit card payment adventure.

WOW, just WOW! I don’t think I need to say anything more. Apart from as a credit card payment process this really really sucks. And there was the opportunity to fix it, with the new re-engineered and redesigned internet banking website. But alas no focus was put on actually improving the credit card payment process.