[andygrif]

I'm with HSBC and they always used to insist that you went to a branch (you could pick any one you liked not just the one where your account was based) to collect new cards. You then had to sign a slip to say you were collecting it, they went away to check your signature on the computer and then they made you sign the card before their eyes.

Now I know this is quite staff intensive, and I guess there's a maths professor that has worked out how inefficient it is compare to possible losses, but HSBC now send their cards through the post like everyone else....not even Recorded Delivery.