International Payments

Why choose HSBC to send money abroad?

We've made it convenient, quick and easy for you to make your International Money Transfer.

Making international payments:

Available 24/7 via online banking

Send up to £50,000 or currency equivalent in a matter of minutes. We've also made it easy for you to set up future dated and recurring payments.
Simple Fees

Send money online for just £4. There's no payment fee at all if you transfer to another HSBC Account.
Exchange Rate Certainty

With live rates updated by the second during market hours, we'll provide you with our most up to date foreign exchange rate available - providing you with the certainty and visibility of how much you're sending.
Safe & Secure

Using your own bank means you'll have peace of mind knowing that your transaction is secure.

Send money confidently in local currency

Next time you're making an International Payment, why not consider sending it in the local currency? It’s easy to do and you’ll know exactly how much you’re sending with our up-to-date exchange rates.

How to send money abroad

Make a payment online

Log on to online banking and:

Select the account you want to make the payment from and select 'Pay and transfer' from the 'Manage' menu. Alternatively, select 'Pay and transfer' from the 'Quick links' options on the online banking homepage.
For new beneficiaries, select 'A new payee', or for an existing beneficiary, select 'Your saved payees'.
Enter payment details.
Follow the on-screen instructions.
Review and confirm your payment.

To see what international payments have debited your account, view the transactions on the account you made the payment from.

Sending money to someone new

When sending money to someone for the first time, to keep you safe we'll ask you to authorise the transaction by generating a one-time transaction code on your Digital Secure Key or physical Secure Key. Using a Digital Secure Key means you only need your digital device to make payments. Find out how to upgrade to one here.

This is a security step that verifies your credentials. It also increases security against possible fraud attacks which can be potentially caused by malware.

To generate a transaction code using your Secure Key:

use the last four digits of the IBAN / account number you are paying, ignoring any letters or special characters;
then add the amount of the currency that you first input on the move money screen, ignoring the decimal point or comma

For example, if you are sending USD $120.05 to IBAN ending 54XY77 then you would use 547712005 to generate the transaction code.

If you need additional help, please see the making payments page.

Log on to make a payment This link will open in a new window

Make a payment by phone

HSBC Premier or Advance customer: 03456 00 61 61

Calling from outside the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man: +44 1470 697139

Lines are open 07:00 to 21:00 every day (24 hours a day for lost and stolen queries).

All other customers: 03456 00 61 61

Calling from outside the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man: +44 1470 697139

Lines are open 07:00 to 21:00 every day (24 hours a day for lost and stolen queries).

Make a payment in branch

When making an international payment in one of our branches, please bring the following with you:

photographic identification
beneficiary details
payment details

Find a branch

Or you can register for online banking.

Receiving money from abroad

Things you need to know before receiving a payment

The overseas bank sending the payment to you will need to know the following information about the account you wish to be credited – Providing this information will help to ensure that the payment happens as quickly as possible.

your personal details
SWIFT Code (The HSBC SWIFT code is MIDLGB22)
IBAN (International Bank Account Number) or account number
BIC (Business Identifier Code)

It’s possible for you to receive money into your account from abroad in either foreign currency or Sterling.

If money is received in a different currency to what your account is held in, we'll convert it using the most up to date HSBC Exchange Rate available before crediting it to your account.

You can obtain your International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and Branch Identifier Code (BIC) through the mobile banking app or online banking:

From the main Accounts screen tap the account you want to view the IBAN and BIC for
Tap ‘Statements’ then tap on any recent statement
Your IBAN and BIC will show on the right hand side of the statement above the transaction list

Alternatively, you can also find your IBAN and BIC on your paper statements.

It is important for you to understand from the sender which charging option they have selected when sending this money to you.

Receiving money fees

Foreign currency payments
Payment type	Charge
Receiving money in a foreign currency (£100 or currency equivalent or more)	£8
Receiving money from outside the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man in pounds Sterling (£100 or more)	£6

Foreign currency payments
Payment type	Receiving money in a foreign currency (£100 or currency equivalent or more)
Charge	£8

Payment type	Receiving money from outside the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man in pounds Sterling (£100 or more)
Charge	£6

Additional information

Frequently asked questions

We'll send money abroad using the details you provide to us, so it's really important you check they are correct to avoid any unnecessary delays and / or charges.

Before you send the money it's important that you have the following details to hand about your beneficiary and payment:

Your account details: for the HSBC Account you wish to be debited
Beneficiary's full name and address
Beneficiary's bank code: You should obtain this code, normally the Business Identifier Code (BIC), from your beneficiary. For some countries / regions you may need the national bank code rather than the BIC.
IBAN (International Bank Account number) or account number: The IBAN is a series of alphanumeric characters that helps to identify accounts held anywhere in the world. Some beneficiaries may hold just an account number depending on their bank.
Country/region of their bank: Your beneficiaries' account holding bank may not always be the same as their home country / region
Amount of the payment
Any reference: Any reference you would like to be included to be sent to the beneficiary, however we cannot guarantee this information will be passed to your beneficiary by their bank
Reason for making the payment: It is important to provide us with this information if we ask for it

You can obtain your International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and Branch Identifier Code (BIC) through the mobile banking app or online banking:

From the main Accounts screen tap the account you want to view the IBAN and BIC for
Tap ‘Statements’ then tap on any recent statement
Your IBAN and BIC will show on the right hand side of the statement above the transaction list

Alternatively, you can also find your IBAN and BIC on your paper statements.

HSBC bank payment fees:
Payment type	Online	Branch	Telephone
HSBC to HSBC	£0	£0	£0
HSBC to any other bank	£4	£9	£9

HSBC bank payment fees:
Payment type	HSBC to HSBC
Online	£0
Branch	£0
Telephone	£0

Payment type	HSBC to any other bank
Online	£4
Branch	£9
Telephone	£9

For all international money transfers, the beneficiary's bank, and any foreign bank we may use to send the payment, may also take a charge.

You have different options to; pay all the charges, share the charges or for you to pay all the charges.

The charge(s) applied to the payment will depend on the charging option selected.

If you opt to pay all the fees; the charges in the table above will apply together with any intermediary, agency and beneficiary bank charges
If you opt to share the fees; the charge in the table above will apply together with any intermediary and agency bank charges
If you opt the beneficiary to pay all fees; no charges will be applied

The above charges will be deducted from the payment before we add them to the beneficiary’s account where applicable.

online: up to £50,000 (or currency equivalent)
branch: unlimited
telephone: unlimited for Premier, and up to £10,000 (or currency equivalent) for Non-Premier

Payments to accounts in the EEA (European Economic Area) in euro and sterling will normally be credited the next working day*. All other payments normally take up to 4 working days*, but may take longer depending on the country/region the money is being sent to and if the payment falls on a bank holiday.

You’ll be able to see what International Payments have debited your account from viewing your posted transactions on the debiting account.

* subject to currency cut-off time and further checks, as sometimes we need to conduct additional security checks to validate the payment.

The exchange rate applied to your instruction will be the HSBC Exchange Rate applicable at the time your payment is made. This is a live rate which is updated by the second during market hours. We will notify you each time you make a payment from your account and where a currency exchange has been involved, we will confirm the HSBC Exchange Rate that has been applied.

For future dated payments, the exchange rate will be applied on the day that the payment is made.

You can check the actual exchange rate used for the payment by viewing 'Historic payments' within 'Manage payments'.

We will also write to you to advise of the exchange rate applied to the payment where applicable.

If you've asked us to make a payment immediately you will be unable to cancel it.

You can cancel a future dated or recurring international payment set up online by selecting 'Manage payments - future payments' in Send Money Overseas via online banking.

We will need to have received your request to cancel by 23.59 (UK Time) on the day before the payment is due to be made.

International payments

Why choose HSBC to send money abroad?

Making international payments:

Available 24/7 via online banking

Simple Fees

Exchange Rate Certainty

Safe & Secure