Payments and transfers FAQ

Domestic transactions

International transactions

Global View and Global Transfers

You can send payments to HSBC and non-HSBC accounts by selecting 'New payee' in the 'Move money' feature of online banking. You'll need to use your Secure Key to pay a new account, unless it appears on the list of HSBC approved payees.

See our list of approved companies for bill payments.

Yes, you can. Log on to online banking and send us a message with your instructions from the Contact Centre. We'll need the following information:

• your credit card number
• whether you want to pay the minimum amount per month or the full amount
• when we should make the payment - either immediately (3 days after the date on your statement) or after 21 days
• the account number the payment should come from. The account should be in euros, a current or savings account and in your name

If you'd like to set up a Direct Debit on a joint account, you'll both need to come into a branch to authorise the instruction.

This depends on whether we received your payment instructions before business closed for the day, as well as whether your payment was valid and set up correctly.

You can send payments to HSBC and non-HSBC accounts abroad in just the same way as for accounts in Malta. Just select 'New payee' in the 'Move Money' feature of online banking. You'll need to use your Security Device to pay a new account, unless it appears on the list of HSBC approved payees.

To avoid unnecessary delays please check these guidelines on what information is required.

IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. It's your account number written in a standard format that can be recognised anywhere in the world.

The BIC, or Bank Identifier Code, is the standard way of identifying the bank. It's also known as a SWIFT code or SWIFTBIC.

To receive money from abroad into your HSBC account, you'll often need to give the payee your IBAN and BIC. And if you need to transfer money abroad, you should ask the payee for their IBAN and BIC details.

If you're making a SEPA transfer, the IBAN is compulsory and the BIC is optional. For non-SEPA payments it depends on the country/region and the currency - check on your payee's website.

If the required details are missing or incorrect, the transfer may not go through and you may incur charges.

For more information on IBANs please visit our IBAN help page.

You'll see your IBAN at the top right of your online or paper statements and the BIC at the bottom.

If you've been asked for a sort code so you can receive funds in your HSBC Malta account, quote MMEBMTMT.

If you're sending money in online or mobile banking, you'll get up-to-the-minute foreign exchange rates. The exact value of your foreign currency and the date when the transfer is made will depend on the market cut-off time for your selected currency.

If you send money in a branch or over the phone, you'll get the current rate at the time of the transaction.

This depends on the kind of transaction you're making and how you're making it. It's free to pay a bill but if you're making a transfer via online banking, different charges apply as follows.

SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments Area and a SEPA transfer is one made in euros from your current account to another account in a country in the EU / EEA area. You'll need your payee's BIC and IBAN to make a SEPA transfer.

This depends on the type of transfer and there will be a charge to do so.

You can’t cancel a SEPA transfer. To claim back the funds, send us a secure message through online banking. There’s a charge for this and the foreign bank may apply charges too.

To cancel a non-SEPA transfer, send us a request in a secure message from online banking. We can’t guarantee that the transfer will be cancelled. Cancellation charges apply.

If you want to change any details of a transfer after you’ve sent it for processing, send us a secure message with the changes. There will be a charge for this.

Transfers to third-party HSBC accounts in Malta can’t be reversed once they’ve been processed. You’ll have to contact the payee directly to sort it out.

Please refer to our General Tariff for cancellation of online transfer fees:

If you're a Premier or Advance customer, you have access to Global View and Global Transfers. This gives you a single, online view of all your worldwide HSBC accounts from home or abroad and the ability to transfer money between them.

It's available via online banking and the HSBC Mobile Banking app.

You'll need to be a Premier or Advance customer and registered for online banking to use the service.

Simply log on to online banking, go to Global View and choose 'Add a country/region'. You're now set up to use Global View and Global Transfers in online banking and the HSBC Mobile Banking app. 

You can use Global Transfers for your accounts in Australia, Bahrain, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Egypt, France, Greece, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Jersey, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Vietnam, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, UAE, UK and US.

In online banking or the app, choose 'new transfer' and then:

• select the country/region and accounts you want to transfer between
• choose the currency and enter the amount you want to transfer
• enter a reference so you can identify the transfer on your statement
• select a reason for the transfer (only required for some countries/regions)

The maximum daily outgoing transfer limit is USD100,000, or equivalent in another currency, and the incoming daily limit is USD200,000. The exception is transfers from Malta to Brazil which have a daily cap of USD10,000.

These limits may change; if they do, we'll tell you about it when you make a transfer.

Transfers are free for Premier customers and €5 a transfer if you're an Advance customer.

The exchange rate you'll get depends on the currencies of your accounts and the timing of the transfer.

For immediate transfers, we'll convert your transfer into the currency of your receiving account before we send it. We use a variable rate which changes frequently and we'll let you know the rate before we make the transfer. When you confirm you want to make the transfer, you'll be accepting this exchange rate.

We're not able to convert into all currencies. If this happens, we'll provide you with an indicative rate. The HSBC bank that receives the transfer will make the currency conversion when they receive it (or when they open for business). It may take up to 5 working days for these transfers to reach your receiving account. The receiving bank will use their exchange rate at that time. This rate may be different from the indicative rate we gave you.

We'll also provide an indicative rate when you set up a future or recurring transfer.

You'll be able to check the exchange rate that was applied on your statements.

Yes, you can. You'll need to set them up via online banking.

You can cancel a future or recurring transfer but you can’t cancel an immediate one. You'll have make a second transfer to move your funds back into the original account. The foreign exchange rate will apply, as will the transfer fee if you're an Advance customer.

Your transfer will always be converted into the currency of the account you're sending it to.