The Investment, Industry and Information Technology Ministry is launching a scheme to reach out to the Maltese families who still do not have broadband internet at home. Registration to this fast Internet service will be as little as e3 (Lm1.29) per month and free for a year in case of eligible families who have a disabled person living at home.

Registrations will be received today at Merchants Street, Valletta from 9am till 1pm and tomorrow from 10am till 1pm at the Gozo Ministry, St Francis Square, Victoria, Gozo. ID Card presentation will be required when applying.

On the occasion of the launch of this scheme, HSBC Malta will be offering new and existing customers the opportunity to get a complete package of free online banking facilities which, for this special occasion, includes a free salary SMS alert for a year.

The free online package includes:

Personal Internet Banking – this service is already provided free of charge plus customers avail themselves of discounted bank services when applying online.

Mobile Top-Up – a facility to conveniently top-up the mobile phone account using an SMS message without any extra charges.

Salary SMS alert – customers will receive a free SMS message whenever their bank account is credited with their salary, pension or other social security they may receive. This offer will be valid for one year from commencement of service.

“Since its launch nearly four years ago, HSBC has continued to steadily increase its online services. Some 60,000 customers now use HSBC’s Internet Banking Services. Thanks to this scheme, even more people can avail themselves of this free, safe and convenient service, enjoying the benefits of having access to their bank twenty four hours, seven days a week,” said HSBC’s Head of Marketing, Brian Tortell.