HSBC to charge fee for excess foreign currency withdrawals starting from February

HSBC has informed customers that starting in February of this year, a fee of 0.25% will be charged if the withdrawal of foreign currency cash exceeds a specified limit in a single day. This fee applies to Japanese yen, euros, and US dollars. For example, withdrawing 1 million yen (approximately HK$50,000) would incur a fee of 2,500 yen, equivalent to about HK$124.

According to the notice from HSBC, after the fee adjustment takes effect next month, HSBC One and personal integrated financial services customers will have a designated limit for free foreign currency cash withdrawals: 250,000 and 200,000 yen; 2,000 and 1,500 euros; and 2,000 and 1,500 US dollars. For premium customers, HSBC Global Private Banking, HSBC Premier Elite and HSBC Premier clients will have free withdrawal limits for yen set at 400,000 and 300,000; euros at 4,000 and 3,000; and the same for US dollars.

An HSBC telephone customer service representative stated that these fees only apply to customers withdrawing foreign currency cash at branches. Withdrawals from foreign currency ATMs do not incur fees; however, each transaction is limited to a maximum of 40 banknotes, and the daily withdrawal limit is equivalent to HK$80,000 in foreign currency. HSBC's foreign currency ATMs support four currencies: yen, US dollars, euros, and RMB, but customers should be aware that certain currencies may sometimes be out of stock at these ATMs.

Financial sector legislator Ronick Chan believes that HSBC's decision to charge fees for foreign currency cash withdrawals aims to recoup costs and encourage customers to use electronic payments more. He anticipates that other banks may follow suit.

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