Currency Transfer - Send Money Abroad

HSBC UK
International Services
International Payments

Why choose HSBC to send money outside the UK?

We've made it quick and easy for you to send money outside the UK:

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

There’s no fee if you’re paying in euros and it’s going to a country in the European Economic Area (EEA)
.¹ We won’t charge you either if you’re transferring to another HSBC account. Otherwise, you can send money online for just £4.
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 and secure

Using your own bank means you'll have peace of mind knowing that your transaction is secure. Last year we helped our customers send over 1.3 million payments to over 150 different countries.

International Payments

Find out how to make a payment online

Log on to make a payment how to make a payment online

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 outside the UK

When sending money to someone for the first time, to keep you safe we will 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.

If you set the payment up through the mobile banking app, you can authorise the transaction easily using biometrics (touch/faceID). If you set the payment up through online banking, you will need to generate a transaction code using your Secure Key. If you need any help, check out the below guides and frequently asked questions.

Steps to generate a transaction code if you are a Digital Secure Key user:

1. Go to your secure key and tap on the transaction tab.

On your Secure Key, enter the last 4 digits of the payee account number or IBAN.

2. Then input the whole unconverted* payment amount ignoring the decimal point.

e.g payee IBAN UK64HSBC4005A678 and amount £3000.15 should be input as 5678300015

3. Then use Touch/Face ID or your Digital Secure Key password to generate your transaction code.

Enter the 6-digit transaction code in Online Banking and select continue to complete your payment.

1. Press and hold the green button to turn your secure key on and enter your PIN.

When 'HSBC' shows on screen, press the yellow button.

On your Secure Key, enter the last 4 digits of the payee account number or IBAN, ignoring any letters or special characters.

2. Then input the whole unconverted* payment amount ignoring the decimal point.

Note: if you input more than 8 number they will dropping off to the left of the display.

e.g. payee IBAN UK64HSBC4005A678 and amount £3000.15 should be input as 567830015

3. Then press the yellow button to generate your transaction code.

Enter the 6-digit transaction code in Online Banking and select continue to complete your payment.

Make a payment online

Log on to online banking and:

Select the account from where you want to make the payment and select 'Move Money'
Enter payment details
Follow the on-screen instructions
Review and confirm your payment

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 here.

Log on to make a payment and complete an international money transfer

Services in our branches are currently limited because of the coronavirus outbreak. Unfortunately we are unable to offer new products or set up appointments at the moment.

We’re also receiving far more calls than usual, so our wait times are longer. Please only call us if it’s urgent, so we can help those most in need.

Make a payment by phone

HSBC Premier customers: 03457 707 070†

HSBC Premier customers outside the UK: +44 1226 260 260†

All other customers: 03457 404 404*

All other customers outside the UK: +44 1226 261 010*

†Our lines are open 24 hours a day for HSBC Premier and Advance customers
*Our lines are open from 8am to 10pm every day (except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day)

Textphone numbers Opens in overlay

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 outside the UK

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
IBAN (International Bank Account Number) or account number
BIC (Business Identifier Code)

It’s possible for you to receive money into your account from outside the UK 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 side of the statement above the transaction list

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

If you have a HSBC Currency Account, BIC and IBAN can be found via Online Banking, within the ‘Details’ section above your Currency Account transactions.

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

HSBC UK receiving fees

Foreign Currency Payments
Payment type	Charge
Receiving Money in EURO from the EEA	£0
Receiving money in a foreign currency other than Euro or Euro from outside the EEA (£100 or more)	£8
Receiving money in a foreign currency other than Euro or Euro from outside the EEA (under £100)	£0

Sterling international payments from banks outside the UK
amount	Charge
£100 or more	£6 each
under £100	£0 each

Receiving money from within the EEA

If you’re receiving money from another person in the EEA, you will only pay HSBC’s receiving fee (see table above), and the sender will pay all of the other charges.

Receiving money from outside the EEA

The sender has 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 by the sender.

If the sender opts to pay all the fees; no charges will be applied
If the sender opts to share the fees; the charge(s) in the table above will apply to you
If the sender opts for you to pay all fees; the charges in the table above will apply together with any intermediary and agency bank charges

The above charges will be deducted from the payment before we add them to your account where applicable. Any charges applied to an inward payment you receive will appear in your statement.

Additional information

Frequently Asked Questions

We'll send money outside the UK 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 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 of their bank: Your beneficiaries' account holding bank may not always be the same as their home country
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 side of the statement above the transaction list

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

If you have a HSBC Currency Account, BIC and IBAN can be found via Online Banking, within the ‘Details’ section above your Currency Account transactions.

HSBC UK payment fees*
Payment type	Online	Branch	Phone	Postal
HSBC to HSBC	£0	£0	£0	£17
EUROs outside EEA or any other currency outside UK or any foreign currency (other than EUROs) in the UK	£4	£9	£9	£17
EUROs within EEA	£0	£0	£0	£17

*Recurring and future dated international payments are only available online and will be charged £0 for HSBC to HSBC and £4 for HSBC to any another bank unless it is in Euros within the EEA when the charge will be £0.

Payments to within the EEA

If you’re making a payment to another person in the EEA, you will pay our charges (shown in the table above) together with any intermediary and agency bank charges. You cannot pay charges for the other person.

Payments to outside the EEA

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 in euro and sterling will normally be credited the next working day*. All other payments will normally take up to four working days* (but may take longer depending on the country the money is being sent to).

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

Currently this option is only available online when logged into Online Banking.

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.

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¹European Economic Area includes Aland Islands, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portuga, Reunion, Romania, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St-Martin, Sweden and Switzerland and UK.

International Payments

Why choose HSBC to send money outside the UK?

Making international payments:

International Payments

Send money confidently in local currency

How to send money outside the UK

Make a payment online

How do I generate a transaction code for an international payment?

Make a payment by phone or in branch

Receiving money from outside the UK

Things you need to know before receiving a payment

Where can I find my IBAN and BIC?

How much will it cost?

Additional information

Frequently Asked Questions

What details do I need to send money outside the UK?

How do I find my IBAN and BIC?

How much will it cost to send?

How much can I send?

How long will it take?

How can I setup a future dated or recurring payment?

Which exchange rate is used?

How can I check the HSBC Exchange Rate applied to future/recurring payments?

How do I cancel a payment?

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