Frequently Asked Question

A1: What is the lead-time for settling my bill payment?

Please refer to the merchant's bill statment or contact the merchant directly.

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A2: What is the cut-off time for bill payment transactions?

The bill payment transaction can be made 24 hours if you choose to use your bank account for paying the bill. However, if you choose HSBC credit card as payment account, and the instruction is made before 4:30pm from Monday to Friday, the request will be processed within the same day. For instruction made after the above-mentioned time, the request will be processed on the next business day. The reference to "business day" means a day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, on which banks are open for general business in Hong Kong.

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A3: Can I change the date of a payment, or even delay it?

Unless you have selected 'Pay on Today' in the first place, you can change the payment date before the payment transaction is processed.

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A4: Can I set up forward dated instructions?

You can set up a transaction up to 45 and 13 calendar days in advance for payments made from your bank account and credit card account respectively.

Note: once you have set up a forward dated instruction using HSBC's credit card, the credit limit of your credit card will be held until the transaction is executed.

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A5: What is the largest payment that I can make?

Each type of payment you make is subject to a different limit (called the 'Daily Sub-limit'). For example, the maximum payment you can make to Securities Brokers is HKD500,000 per day while that for Other Merchants is only HKD100,000 per day. Besides these sub-limits, there is a 'Daily Payment Limit' of up to HKD5,000,000 for all the payment types combined.

For details of the bill payment limit structure, please go to 'My Details' and select 'View And Set Transaction Limits'.

Note: Some merchants may impose a maximum or minimum transaction limit on certain bill payments. Please refer to your invoice or contact the merchant for details.

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A6: If I have made a wrong payment, what should I do?

Please contact the merchant directly.

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A7: What is the function of 'Show Balance' button?

This is to show you the balance of the account you have chosen to pay your bills from.

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A8: What can I do if my credit card bill payment is being rejected?

You can call HSBC Personal Banking Hotline on (852) 2233 3000.

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A9: How do I change the date of a forward payment?

Simply click the 'Modify' button and follow the instructions shown on the screen. Please note that if you choose credit card as a payment account, then you will need to click the 'Delete' button and setup a new forward instruction accordingly. No 'Modify' function is allowed.

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A10: Can I change the date of a forward dated instruction for all payment types?

Yes, you can change the forward dated instruction for bank accounts or using HSBC's credit cards as a payment account.

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A11: What if I make a mistake, will I lose money?

Don't worry. If you make a mistake BEFORE the date you paid for your bill, this can be modified. But, if this happens after a transaction has been completed then you need to contact the relevant merchant directly.

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A1: When can I transfer money overseas?

The transfer instruction will be processed between 9am to 5:55pm on Monday to Friday, or 9am to 11:55am on Saturday (excluding Hong Kong public holidays). You can send instruction to the Bank whenever you like but transfers received after these times and those which are not processed on Saturdays will be processed on the next business day at the earliest. The reference to "business day" means a day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, on which banks are open for general business in Hong Kong.

Applications for same day value are subject to cut-off times related to the geographical location of the destination and/or the funding arrangement requirements of the settlement banks. This may mean that the Applicant's account will be debited before the value day and the Bank will not be responsible for any interest expense or loss as a result.

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A2: When can I send a RMB remittance?

The RMB remittance instruction will be processed during our business hours on Monday to Friday, from 9am to 1:30pm, (excluding Saturday, Sunday and public holidays). You can send instruction to the Bank whenever you like but the earliest processing for instructions received after these times will be at the business hours of the next working day. Moreover, the RMB remittance is processed subject to the operation and practice adopted by the RMB clearing bank. It will not be processed by the RMB clearing bank during holidays in China (e.g. Labour Day, National Day).

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A3: Do I need to pay for making a transfer to an overseas account?

Yes. A local service charge will be applied for any overseas transfer, except for HSBC Premier customers conducting overseas transfers via the internet, to self-name HSBC accounts (including joint accounts). If you request for overseas handling charges (including charges levied by recipient bank and correspondent banks) to be paid by yourself (rather than by the recipient) an additional service charge will be deducted from your account except when HSBC Premier customers transfer money to some of our overseas HSBC branches. Overseas handling charges will be deducted from your account separately at a later date once the fee has been charged back by the overseas banks. The final charge settlement will be subject to the practice adopted by the correspondent bank and/or recipient bank. Please refer to "An easy guide to bank tariffs for HSBC personal banking customers" for detailed charges.

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A4: Is there any limit on the transfer amount?

For transfers to a registered account, the maximum transfer amount per registered account per day is HKD1,000,000. For transfer to non-registered accounts, the maximum transfer amount via the three channels of Internet Banking, Phonebanking and ATM combined per day is HKD 50,000 (called the 'Daily Transfer Limit'). Besides the daily transfer limit, a sub-limit has also been introduced which limits the amount you can transfer via each of the three available channels.

For details of the limit structure, please go to 'My Details' and select 'View and Maintain Registered Transfer Accounts' (for registered third party transfer) or 'View And Set Transaction Limits' (for non-registered third party transfer).

Note: If you submit more than one transfer request in the same day, the available transfer limit will be your daily transfer limit less the amount of the transfer that you have already requested/made.

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It is because the message you entered in the 'Message to Recipient/Recipient's Bank' box contains some characters that are not supported, such as'!', '-'. The message should only contain:

• Numeric (e.g.1,2,3)
• Alphabetic (e.g. A, B, a, b)
• The following special characters ? : . , ( )

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A6: When can I make changes to a forward-dated transfer instruction?

Before the transfer is processed.

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A7: How can I "Modify" or "Delete" the transfer instruction do?

Clicking Modify button allows you to modify a forward-dated transfer instruction. Clicking Delete button allows you to delete a forward-dated transfer instruction.

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A8: Why do I receive a different format of Payment Reference Number for Telegraphic Transfer and Real-time Interbank Payment (RTGS)?

Outward Payment

We have enhanced our payments process system to improve our remittance services. Starting from 11 January 2009, there are new reference numbers for Telegraphic Transfer and Real-time Interbank Payment processing.
The format of the reference number is changed as follows:

Please refer to Enhancement to Telegraphic Transfer and Real-time Interbank Payment for more details.

Inward Payment

The new set of payment reference for Inward real-time interbank payment and Inward telegraphic transfer payment crediting your Hong Kong domiciled account is introduced in phases starting from 18 Jan and 12 Jul 2010 respectively.
The format of the reference number is changed as follows:

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A1: When will a transfer be processed?

Transfer within HSBC are done instantly if you select the Transfer date as Today. Otherwise, they will be done on the date specified in your instruction.

HKD transfers to other banks will be processed on the transfer date specified in your instruction. Transfers to other banks will be processed between 9:00am - 4:30pm* on Monday to Friday (excluding Hong Kong public holidays). Except for instructions for transfer in EUR/USD/RMB which may be cutoff by 5:45pm for Monday to Friday and transfer in HKD/EUR/USD/RMB which may not be processed on Saturdays. For requests received after these times will be made on the next business day or the date specified in your instruction. The reference to ''business day'' means a day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, on which banks are open for general business in Hong Kong. In normal cases, funds transferred through ''e-Transfer'' service will be credited to the recipient's account by the end of the day or the next business day; funds transferred through ''Express Transfer'' service will be credited to the recipient's account on the transfer day.

*For same day "e-Transfer" service under HSBC Internet Banking, transfers to other bank will be processed between 9:00am - 12:00pm Monday to Friday (excluding Hong Kong public holidays).
For "Express Transfer" service under HSBC Internet Banking, transfers to other bank will be processed between 9:00am - 5:45pm Monday to Friday (excluding Hong Kong public holidays).

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A2: Is there any limit on the transfer amount?

For transfers to a registered account, the maximum transfer amount per registered amount per day is HKD1,000,000. For transfers to non-registered accounts, the maximum transfer amount via the three channels of HSBC Internet Banking, Phonebanking and ATM per day is HKD50,000 (called the 'Daily Transfer Limit'). Besides daily transfer limit, a sub-limit has also been introduced which limits the amount you can transfer via each of the available three channels.

For details of the limit structure, please go to 'My Details' and select 'View and Maintain Registered Transfer Accounts' (for registered third party transfer) or 'View And Set Transaction Limits' (for non-registered third party transfer).

Note: If you submit more than one transfer request in the same day, the available transfer limit will be your daily transfer limit less the amount of the transfer that you have already requested/made.

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A3: Are there any limits on money transfers between accounts encoded on the SAME account card?

There are no limits on money transfers between accounts encoded on the same account card. These are considered as transfers between your self-named accounts. However, transfer to accounts not encoded on your account card (for both debit and credit cards) are considered as transfers to non-registered accounts and are subject to our limits.

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A4: Do I need to pay for making a transfer through HSBC Internet Banking?

No charge is required for transfers within HSBC.

For Hong Kong dollar transfers to other banks in Hong Kong, depending on the service you choose, the following charges will apply:

Making a foreign currency or Renminbi transfer to another bank account in Hong Kong, a service charge of HKD50, HKD110 or HKD200 will be applied, depending on the clearing system used by the recipient bank. The amount of the service charge will be confirmed on the transaction advice which is displayed once you have confirmed the transfer. The recipient bank may apply additional charges for receiving the money - for full details you are advised to contact the bank you are sending money to for details on its fee policy.

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A5: How do I register accounts for fund transfers?

To set up a Registered Account, please download the 'Internet Banking Registered Transfer Accounts - Limit Increase and Maintenance Request Form', complete it with your signature, and return it to any HSBC branch in Hong Kong. Registered Accounts will be set up within 3 business days from receipt of your request.

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A6: What do I need to do in order to make a foreign currency or Renminbi transfer to a Registered HSBC Account?

You can make the transfer by selecting the account holder's name and account number and type from the pull down menus and choose the required currency from the currency options shown.

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A7: What do I need to do in order to make a foreign currency or Renminbi transfer to a Registered Account?

You can make the transfer by selecting the account holder's name and account number from the pull down menu and choose your required currency from the currency options shown.

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A8: What currencies can I use?

Any currency supported by 'Transfer To' of 'Transfer From' accounts can be used.

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A9: What do I need to do in order to make a transfer Hong Kong dollar to other bank accounts?

You will need to choose a bank name under the pull down menu and then input the account number and account holder's name.

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A10: What do I need to do in order to make a transfer Hong Kong dollar to a Registered Account?

You can make the transfer by selecting the account holder's name and account number from the pull down menu and enter the transfer amount.

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A11: Will my account name appear on the recipient's account details?

Your account name will appear on the recipient's account details only if their account is within HSBC. However, it will not appear if the recipient's account is a Hong Kong Dollar Passbook Savings account.

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A12: Do I need to input the account number with the bank code?

No. You only need to enter the 12-digit account number.

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A13: How far in advance can I instruct a transfer to be made?

Anytime from one day to 45 days.

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A14: When can I make changes to a forward-dated transfer instruction?

Before the transfer is processed

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A15: How can I Modify or Delete the transfer instruction do?

Clicking Modify button allows you to modify a forward-dated transfer instruction. Clicking Delete button allows you to delete a forward-dated transfer instruction.

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A16: Why do I receive a different format of Payment Reference Number for Telegraphic Transfer and Real-time Interbank Payment (RTGS)?

Outward Payment

We have enhanced our payments process system to improve our remittance services. Starting from 11 January 2009, there are new reference numbers for Telegraphic Transfer and Real-time Interbank Payment processing.
The format of the reference number is changed as follows:

Please refer to Enhancement to Telegraphic Transfer and Real-time Interbank Payment for more details.

Inward Payment

The new set of payment reference for Inward real-time interbank payment and Inward telegraphic transfer payment crediting your Hong Kong domiciled account is introduced in phases starting from 18 Jan and 12 Jul 2010 respectively.
The format of the reference number is changed as follows:

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A1: What do the 'Modify' and 'Delete' buttons do?

Clicking the 'Modify' button allows you to modify an autopay instruction, both existing or newly set up instructions. Clicking the 'Delete' button allows you to delete an existing autopay instruction.

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A2: When will the modification or deletion be effective?

Modification and deletion of existing autoPay instructions will be effective after two working days.

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A3: I want to cancel an autoPay instruction with 'Pending Set Up' status. What should I do?

Simply click the 'Details' button and then click the 'Cancel' button. The pending set up instruction will then be cancelled.

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A4: I want to cancel a pending modification (or deletion) instruction I placed earlier. What should I do?

Simply click the 'Details' button and then click the 'Cancel' button. The pending modification (or deletion) instruction will then be cancelled.

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A5: When will my instructions be effective?

The lead time for setting up new autoPay instructions depends on the arrangement with particular merchants/recipients, who will receive your payment. Please check the effective date with the respective merchants/recipients.

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A6: I cannot find the recipient in the pull down menu. What should I do?

If you would like to pay to other recipients who have accounts with HSBC, please select 'Others' in the 'Recipient (Bank Account No.)' box. Then enter the recipient's bank account number and check the name of the recipient shown on the screen. You can set up autoPay instructions to recipients with accounts in HSBC, ie those account numbers start with the bank code '004'.

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