Important HSBC Payments Information

Please note that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (“HKEx”) will implement Severe Weather Trading from 23 September 2024, which allows Hong Kong securities and derivatives markets to remain open during trading days with severe weather conditions, such as when Typhoon Signal No.8 or above and/or a Black Rainstorm Warning is issued by the Hong Kong Observatory, or if an “Extreme Conditions” announcement is made by the HKSAR Government. More details about Severe Weather Trading (“SWT”) can be found from the website of HKEx.

To ensure safety, our branches in Hong Kong will be closed.

For cheque processing and clearing under SWT, the following arrangement will be made:

1. If severe weather conditions are in effect before 9am and cancelled after 12noon on a business day (i.e. Monday to Friday except public holidays), only those paper cheques deposited before the cut-off time on the previous business day will be processed and cleared (the fund will become available balance after 3pm upon successful clearance). All other paper cheques deposited will be processed on the next business day (if not affected by severe weather conditions)
2. If severe weather conditions are in effect after 9am or cancelled before/at 12noon on a business day, paper cheques will be processed and cleared as usual (please note that the cut-off time of Cheque Deposit Machines may be changed under severe weather conditions, please refer to the notice posted near the machine for details)
3. e-Cheque will be processed and cleared as usual and will not be affected by severe weather conditions

From 31 August 2024, Mobile Cheque Deposit service will no longer accept cheques without cheque verification number. Please use a cheque deposit machine at an HSBC branch or an Express Banking facility to deposit these cheques. For more details, please click here to view the updated version of the “Mobile Cheque Deposit” user guide released on 31 August, 2024.

We’ll update the Mobile Cheque Deposit Terms and Conditions (in HSBC HK Business Express mobile app > Payment & Transfer > Mobile Cheque Deposit) with effect from 31 August 2024. For details, please refer to the Notice of Change.

To strengthen customer protection, we've adopted enhanced measures on instant inward payments. To receive money via your HSBC account number, please be reminded to provide your full account name as registered with HSBC to payers. If an incoming instant payment bears an account name that does not match with what is registered with HSBC, the payment may be rejected.

Effective from 1 Jan 2023, HSBC will cease the issuance of Demand Drafts. Customers can consider using Telegraphic Transfer for remittance to overseas countries or territories.

For details of Telegraphic Transfer please visit our webpage https://www.business.hsbc.com.hk/en-gb/products/telegraphic-transfer

Following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, the following governments have announced bank holidays:

• The UK government has announced that 19 September 2022 (Mon) will be observed as a UK Bank Holiday
• The Bermuda government has announced that 19 September 2022 (Mon) will be a Bermuda Public Holiday
• The Australian government has announced that 22 September 2022 (Thu) will be announced as Australian Bank Holiday
• The New Zealand government has announced that 26 September 2022 (Mon) will be announced as New Zealand Bank Holiday

HSBC encourages customers to remit their respective payments in GBP or BMD or AUD or NZD before the holidays to avoid delays.

Effective from 1 September 2022, only the authorised signatory of an account can collect the new commercial cheque book on behalf of the account owner if it is requested to be collected at any designated branches of HSBC.

We encourage you to select mail delivery as the delivery mode when requesting for a new commercial cheque book. Alternatively, please use other electronic payment methods to replace physical cheque payments.

With immediate effect, HSBC will cease to process any new standing instruction requests for cashier’s order via paper application forms.

Customers can still place non-standing (i.e. one-off) instruction requests for Cashier’s Order via paper application forms or HSBCnet, or use other domestic electronic payment methods to make payments to local beneficiaries.

Effective from 1 March 2022, HSBC will cease the issuance of Demand Draft to be drawn in United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

Customers can consider using Telegraphic Transfer for remittance to these countries or territory.

Please be informed that the cut-off time on 31 Dec 2021 for cross-border RMB payments into and via mainland China will be at 16:45 hours HKT. HSBC encourages customers to remit RMB payments as early in the day as possible.

Effective from 1 October 2021, HSBC will cease the issuance of Demand Draft to be drawn in Australia, Singapore and the Macau SAR. In addition, the issuance of Demand Draft to be drawn in Fiji will be stopped effective from 6 September 2021. For the issued FJD Demand Drafts, please remind the holders to deposit them on or before 17 September 2021.

Customers can consider using Telegraphic Transfer for remittance to these countries or territory.

Please be informed that the cut-off time on 31 Dec 2020 for cross-border RMB payments into and via the mainland China will be at 16:00 hours HKT. HSBC encourages customers to remit your RMB payments as early in the day as possible.

As part of the ongoing review of our services, effective from 1 September 2020, we will cease to issue demand drafts drawn in United Kingdom and France.

Please use Telegraphic Transfer instead if you would like to make payments to United Kingdom and France.

As part of the ongoing review of our practices and policies, please be advised that effective from 1 January 2020, HSBC will cease the issuance of Demand Drafts in non-local currency drawn in other countries/territories.

Please use Telegraphic Transfer for non-local currency remittances to respective countries/territories instead.

Please be advised that, from 1 October 2019 onwards, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited will no longer issue demand drafts for any currencies drawn in Germany.

Please use telegraphic transfer for remittance instead.

With effect from 16 September 2019, the outward telegraphic transfer services to Nigeria initiated in Nigerian Naira will be terminated. Outward telegraphic transfer to Nigeria initiated in other currencies will not be affected.

HSBC endeavors to provide excellent customer experience to our customers. On this basis, HSBC has updated its Telegraphic Transfer / Interbank Fund Transfer Application Form (Smartforms) in June 2019.

Given the above, HSBC has updated the Payment Policy that, from 1 September 2019 onwards, outdated HSBC Smartforms will no longer be accepted. Payment instructions received using such forms will be rejected.

You can download the latest Smartform (computer filled with validated barcode) available on our website under Forms Download Centre.

Going forward, you can also use the following channels to submit payment instructions:

• Business Internet Banking
• HSBCnet

Useful Links:

• Download Smartform/Smartform completion guide
• Customer FAQs (PDF, 50KB)

Starting from 1 Aug 2019, the foreign banknote exchange services covering both ‘Bank Buy’ and ‘Bank Sell’ for Saudi Arabian Riyal (SAR), Brunei Dollar (BND) and Bahraini Dinar (BHD) currencies will be terminated at our branches.

Please be informed the cut off time on 31 Dec 2018 for cross border RMB payments with amount above RMB 3 million will be 1500 hours HKT. Please submit your instructions before the cut-off time.

HSBC introduces FPS as part of an industry wide launch in Hong Kong to support Hong Kong dollar and Renminbi domestic real-time funds transfer for personal and corporate payments. A new tariff for these services will come into effect from 18 September 2018. Please click here (PDF, 231KB) for details.

HSBC will complete USD telegraphic transfer standardisation in February 2016. Overseas bank charges may change. Please click here for details.

HSBC endeavors to provide excellent customer experience to our customers. Manual payments may expose you to risk, cause processing delays and errors and generally result in poorer customer experience. Alternative payment instruction submission channels such as Internet banking and Smartform are faster and more secure.

HSBC has updated the Payment Policy that we no longer accept manual payment instructions for non-personal customers. These are payment instructions submitted using outdated HSBC paper forms, hand-written or manually typed HSBC Smartforms or instructions in any other formats submitted via HSBC branches, fax, email or by mail.

Going forward, you can use the following channels to submit payment instructions:

• Business Internet Banking
• HSBCnet
• Smart Forms (computer filled with validated barcode) available on our website under Forms Download Centre

Useful Links:

• Download Smartform/Smartform completion guide
• Customer FAQs (PDF, 50KB)

With effect from 13 November 2017, the outward telegraphic transfer services to Taiwan initiated in New Taiwan Dollar will be terminated. Outward telegraphic transfer to Taiwan initiated in other currencies will not be affected. For details, please refer to the Notice of Changes (PDF, 151KB).

After an ongoing review of our practices and policies, with effective from 26 May 2014 The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (“Bank”) will discontinue sending payment / transfer advices via facsimile to customers. This is part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen security and risk controls. At the customer's request and if the Bank has agreed to provide the service, the Bank will send the advice(s) via secured email methods (Forced Transport Layer Security or SecureMail) to the customer’s email address registered with the Bank.

For information about this service or the set-up procedure, please contact your relationship manager or call Commercial Banking Service Hotline 2748 8288 for details.

To comply with the new requirement announced by the People's Bank of China, all customers are required to indicate the purpose of payment in the instructions for ORTT denominated in Renminbi.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited ("Bank") will require the declaration of the purpose of payment for ORTT denominated in Renminbi through different ORTT instruction submission channels by phases, according to the following schedule in March 2014 for non-personal customers:

For customers who have set up Standing Instruction(s) for ORTT denominated in Renminbi, please be reminded to revise the related Standing Instruction(s) with the declaration of the purpose of payment as soon as possible.

The Bank reserves the right to reject any ORTT denominated in Renminbi, with no purpose of payment indicated, without prior notice. Also ORTT instruction could be rejected or delayed due to compliance checking in accordance with regulatory requirements in the Mainland for which the Bank is not liable.

If you need further information, please contact us.

Issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

With effect from 11 Mar 2013, for security reasons, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited ("HSBC") will no longer accept or process the payment instructions that include Outward Telegraphic Transfer, CHATS, Account Transfer , Cashier’s Order, Demand Draft, submitted by HSBC customers via the Drop-In Box. All such payment instructions must be submitted over the counter.