Third party FAQs

If you submitted the documentation to us, we will contact you as soon as possible if there are any issues causing a delay in processing the third party access.

CARE: If you would like HSBC to consider the application of the power of attorney to a business account associated with the donor, please inform us at the time of application.

Your request will be sent to our specialist Commercial Banking team for review, and this is reviewed separately to the application of the Power of Attorney on any personal bank accounts.

Please note: for a power of attorney to be considered on a business account, the power must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian first.

The attorney can register your power of attorney using our online form provided you (the donor) are an HSBC customer with an active product, (ie bank account or credit card). Please go to our power of attorney registration page for more information.

The attorney can provide the Secure Digital Access code for the power of attorney or we'll need to see the full power of attorney document – either the original, or a copy which has been certified.

We'll also need to see suitable documents for identification and address verification for the attorney. If multiple attorneys are appointed to act 'jointly', every attorney will need to provide suitable identification and address verification. For a list of acceptable documents, please see our help us identify you page.

We have a set of instructions to help you register the power of attorney with HSBC.

Once we have all of the information we need, the power of attorney will be set up within 10 working days.

If you've asked for phone access when registering Power of Attorney with us, we'll post a letter and phone banking pack to the attorney. This explains how to register for phone access. Once you're registered, you can call us if you're the attorney.

You'll need to key in the donor's sort code and account number. Then when prompted, key in:

Once registered for phone banking, you can apply for online banking once the Power of Attorney has been updated in our records. You can apply in one of our branches or by calling us on 03457 404 404.

To find out more about mobile banking.

Please note: we can only give online banking access to one party at a time (either donor or attorney).

A confirmation letter and SMS (if we have your mobile number) will be issued to the donor (where the donor is mentally capable) or the attorney (where the donor is mentally incapable).

If you live in the UK, the donor, a solicitor, notary public or a chartered legal executive can certify your POA document.

If you live outside the UK, you'll need to get both your proof of identity document and your proof of address documents certified. You can find out how to do this by visiting our help us to identify you page.

Some types of Power of Attorney remain valid if the donor becomes mentally incapable. Please see our types of power of attorney page for further information.

More information on mental capacity can be found in our Mental capacity section on the same page.

The power is revoked (cancelled) and the attorney’s authority is cancelled.

Any decision to accept a foreign power of attorney is taken on a 'case by case' basis.

Please refer to the Office of the Public Guardian for further guidance.

A Court of Protection order can be issued when someone loses mental capacity and there is no lasting power of attorney or enduring power of attorney in existence. Further information can be found at GOV.UK.

A deputy is a person appointed by the Court of Protection to manage the affairs of someone who lacks the mental capacity to manage their own affairs. You can find out more at GOV.UK.

We'll need to see the full Court of Protection document – either the original, or a certified copy that has been signed and dated by an authorised person (for example, a solicitor or a notary public) at the end of each page to confirm that it's a true and complete copy of the original.

We'll also need to see suitable documents for identification and address verification. If multiple deputies are appointed to act 'jointly', every deputy will need to provide suitable identification and address verification.

For a list of acceptable documents, please see our help us identify you page.

Once we have all of the information we need, it will be set up within 10 working days.

If you've asked for phone access when registering the Court of Protection order with us, we'll post a letter and phone banking pack to the deputy. This explains how to register for phone access. Once you're registered, you can call us if you're the deputy.

You'll need to key in the donor's sort code and account number. Then when prompted, key in:

Once registered for phone banking, the deputy can apply for online banking once the Court of Protection order has been updated in our records. You can apply in one of our branches or by calling us on 03457 404 404.

To find out more about mobile banking.

Please note: we can only give online banking access to one party at a time (either donor or deputy).

A confirmation letter and SMS (if mobile number held) will be issued to the deputy.

We'll confirm this in a letter to the deputy.

For full instructions on how to register your Court of Protection order, please visit our registration page.

You'll need to ask a professional person (solicitor or notary) to certify your documents.

Ask your chosen certifier to write the following on the document they're certifying:

'I, (full name of certifier) confirm that this is a true copy of the original document for (full name of customer).'

Each document must also include:

It's important each document contains this information as we might be unable to accept them without it. The person signing the document must be active in the profession and can't be a relative, friend or someone who lives at your address. We may contact them for verification.

Ask one of the possible certifiers below to write the relevant statement on each of the documents they verify. If any of the documents is more than 1 page long, ask the certifier to write the statement on the first page and sign any subsequent page.

We can only accept the following certifiers, who must be registered, active and based within the EU:

Next, ask your chosen certifier to write this on the document they're certifying:

For documents that contain a photo:

'I, (full name of certifier), confirm that this is an accurate copy of the original and the photo is a true reflection of the applicant.'

For documents that don't contain a photo:

'I, (full name of certifier) confirm that this is a true copy of the original document for (full name of customer).'

Each document must also include:

It's important each document contains this information as without it we may not be able to accept them. The person signing the document must be active in the profession and can't be a relative, friend or someone who lives at your address. We may contact them for verification.

Please remember your documents must:

The same document cannot be used twice to verify identify and address, so separate documents must be used to meet the regulations and the HSBC criteria.

You'll need to contact one of the following:

Next, ask your chosen certifier to write this on the document they're certifying:

For your documents that contain a photo:

'I, (full name of certifier) confirm that this is an accurate copy of the original and the photo is a true likeness of the person concerned.'

For your documents that don't contain a photo:

'I, (full name of certifier) confirm that this is an accurate copy of the original.'

They should also write:

If you submitted the documentation to us, we will contact you as soon as possible if there are any issues causing a delay in processing the third party access.

Registrations can take up to 10 working days once we have received a complete and correctly filled out set of documents. We will contact you in case there are any issues causing a delay in processing your documentation.

You may appoint any number of third parties if you are using a third party mandate or power of attorney. The mandate or Power of Attorney must state clearly who has been appointed and whether they are authorised to act "jointly" or "jointly and individually" when making decisions.

Appointing multiple third parties to act "jointly" means that they must all make decisions together, while appointing them to act "jointly or individually" means that they are authorised to make decisions together or alone.

Please note, for security reasons if the third parties can only make decisions "jointly", they will not be able to have access to a debit card, telephone banking or online banking.

In the case of a Court of Protection order, the Court will decide who to appoint as a deputy and what their duties and powers will be.

Any third party access may include restrictions to the third party's powers depending on the wishes of the person providing access to his or her accounts. A third party mandate is a pre-printed bank document that allows you to choose from certain restrictions. Powers of attorney allows you to add your own restrictions.

Please note, for security reasons any restriction on a third party mandate or power of attorney may stop the third party having access to a debit card, telephone banking and online banking.

In the case of a Court of Protection order, the Court will decide what restrictions, if any, should be made to the deputy's powers.

For third party mandates you and any other parties to the joint account need to agree and submit jointly signed instructions to us if you would like to appoint a third person to have access to the joint account.

For Power of Attorney or Court of Protection access can be provided on joint accounts. The joint party will be sent a letter to notify them that a registration has been completed on the account.

If joint accounts are held, we will remove your access to the joint account, the remaining joint party will be able to use the account as normal.

If you lose capacity and you have an attorney appointed to manage the joint account on your behalf, any other parties to the joint account will be notified. The attorney and the other joint account holders will have to agree on how to manage the joint account in the future.

Once you authorise another person to have access to your accounts, you will be responsible for their actions or omissions as if they were your own as long as you remain mentally capable. If you have given the third party access via a third party mandate or when setting up the power of attorney, you do have the option of restricting the level of access they have.

If you lose capacity, the types of third party access which may be used would be a registered lasting or enduring power of attorney or a Court of Protection order. Registered attorneys and deputies have a responsibility to act in the best interest of the individual they represent. You can find out more information on the duties of deputies and attorneys on the GOV.UK website.

The main differences are that a third party mandate is an HSBC-specific document that gives a third party access to your HSBC bank account. A general/ordinary power of attorney can be written by you and can give a third party access to different accounts in different financial institutions.

A specific Power of Attorney includes restrictions on what the third party has control over. You can find more information about the standard wording of an Ordinary Power of Attorney on the Official UK Legislation website.

You may not need a third party to manage your bank account while you are abroad. If you have online or telephone banking access, you may still be able to do so yourself. Find out how by contacting us.

If you absolutely need a third party to access your bank accounts, you can still complete a third party mandate if you're already abroad by following these instructions.

You can still make a power of attorney then ask the attorney to submit the power to us in the UK, ensuring you include all supplementary documentation.

You can find more information about mental incapacity and about the practical application of the 2005 Mental Capacity Act on the Mental Capacity Act page on GOV.UK

The enduring power of attorney was replaced by the lasting power of attorney on 1st October 2007 and both documents have almost the same application. Enduring powers of attorney may still be used as long as they were signed and dated before the 1st October 2007.

Both lasting and enduring powers of attorney are legal documents which allow the attorney to make decisions on your behalf. Lasting powers of attorney have to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian in order to be valid. Enduring powers of attorney may be used without registering as long as you retain mental capacity.

Should you lose mental capacity, a lasting power of attorney will remain valid. An unregistered enduring power of attorney will be suspended if you lose mental capacity, but if your attorney registers it with the Office of the Public Guardian, it will be valid again.

You can find out how to make and register a Lasting Power of Attorney by visiting GOV.UK.

A registered lasting power of attorney gives a third party access whether or not you have mental capacity.

An enduring power of attorney is slightly different. If you have mental capacity they can use an unregistered ensuring power of attorney. But if you lose mental capacity, it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used.

Once we are notified that you have lost capacity, the attorney's powers under an enduring power of attorney will be limited to actions which are essential to prevent loss to you and other people dependent on you. Depending on the situation, this could mean, for example, that some pre-authorised payments may continue to debit your account, such as payments for a mortgage or utilities. Once the enduring power has been registered, the attorney will regain full powers.

Both enduring and lasting powers of attorney must be made and signed by you when you still have mental capacity.

You have the option of appointing a limited company to act as your third party instead of a private individual. In this case, please ensure that the appointment and signing instructions are clearly outlined in the power.

The company acting as third party must provide the bank with a board resolution appointing named individuals to act on its behalf, as well as with specimen signatures which will be copied and processed with the rest of the documents submitted with the power of attorney.

We may require suitable identification and verification of address documents for the attorney and anyone authorised to sign on your accounts on behalf of the company.

We give information as authorised by the courts, not to solicitors, friends or relatives who are preparing an application. So unfortunately we can't give you any details about a customer's account unless you are a signatory to that account.

The Court may carry out periodic audits of a deputy's bank accounts to ensure that the deputy is managing the customer's assets in accordance with the Court order. If the Court of Protection or Office of the Public Guardian request specific information from us, we will respond to the request.

No. If the Court of Protection has required a security deposit, it must be in place before we can accept the Court of Protection order.