Hong Kong
Business Accounts FAQs
How can I apply for a business account?
Thank you for choosing HSBC. Applying for a business account is simple and easy, please follow the below steps:
We will get in touch with you to arrange an appointment at your preferred HSBC Business Centre for account opening. Please bring along all required documents and initial deposit of HKD10,000 to the appointment for account opening.
Or
Call our dedicated hotline 2748 8238
Call us to make an account opening appointment at your preferred HSBC Business Centre, then bring along all required documents and initial deposit of HKD10,000 to the appointment for account opening.
What are the requirements to open a business account?
Apart from the initial deposit of HKD10,000, you need to bring along all required documents to the account opening appointment. Documents required vary for different business types, for details please refer to our Account Opening Document Checklist.
What is a Business Integrated Account?
A Business Integrated Account is an account which combines savings, current and time deposits accounts in HK Dollar, Renminbi and a range of foreign currencies* under one single account number, enabling you to manage your day-to-day banking with ease. Investment account is also combined under our Business Integrated Account for you to manage your investment trading needs.
HSBC Business Direct and BusinessVantage are the two different types of Business Integrated Accounts to suit your business needs.
* Foreign currencies include: US Dollar (USD), Pound Sterling (GBP), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Australian Dollar (AUD), Japanese Yen (JPY), New Zealand Dollar (NZD), Euro (EUR), Singapore Dollar (SGD), Swiss Franc (CHF), Renminbi (RMB) and Thai Baht (THB)
How should I choose between the two Business Integrated Accounts?
To compare the two Business Integrated Accounts, please click here.
In general, HSBC Business Direct provides basic banking service and is most suitable for newly established businesses. It is especially popular amongst our customers mainly operating their banking accounts via electronic means.
BusinessVantage provides more advanced banking services and is suitable for both newly established or developing businesses. Extra free counter transaction allowance helps you to manage your banking needs more effectively.
Frequently asked questions on HSBC Business Direct
a. Why is an account administration fee being charged on HSBC Business Direct?
Our accounts offer different features and benefits to you and hence have different fees and charges attached to them. For details on the features and benefits of HSBC Business Direct and BusinessVantage, please click here.
b. When do I need to pay the account administration fee for my HSBC Business Direct account and what are the modes of payment?
The fee is to be paid at the time of account opening. You can choose to settle the fee by cash, credit card, HKD cheque/cashier order or transfer from an HSBC account.
c. As an existing HSBC business account holder, do I need to pay the account administration fee when I switch to HSBC Business Direct?
If your BusinessVantage account is opened for less than 3 months, and you would like to convert to HSBC Business Direct, this fee will be applicable.
Account administration fee will be waived if your BusinessVantage account is opened for more than 3 months.
Frequently asked questions on BusinessVantage
a. Why does BusinessVantage require a higher Total Relationship Balance than HSBC Business Direct for waiver on the monthly service fee?
Please note that there are different benefits and requirements for our two Business Integrated Accounts. BusinessVantage provides more premium service than HSBC Business Direct, including up to 50 free counter transactions and waiver of the account administration fee.
Where can I learn more for each Business Integrated Account?
Product guides for our different Business Integrated Accounts are available at all our HSBC Business Centres. You can also access the product guides by clicking the below links:
HSBC Business Direct Product Guide
BusinessVantage Product Guide
Noted there is a counter transaction allowance for business accounts. What is that about?
a. What is the definition of "Counter Transactions"?
The following transactions conducted over branch counters with the assistance of an HSBC branch staff are considered as counter transactions:
- Cash deposit (including bulk cash deposit)
- Cash withdrawal
- Cheque deposit (including bulk cheque deposit and house cheque deposit)
- Cheque withdrawal
- Mixed deposit
- Transfer withdrawal (transfer between two HSBC accounts in Hong Kong)
b. How is "Counter Transaction" computed?
Total number of counter transactions is calculated based on the total number of counter transactions conducted in respect of all accounts maintained with HSBC in Hong Kong by your company with the same business registration number.
These counter transactions could be initiated by your company or a third party.
Here are a few scenarios to explain the computation of monthly transaction fee for counter transactions of an HSBC business account customer (Company A):
| Scenario | Is this considered a counter transaction? | |
| 1 |
Company A issues a cheque from its HSBC Business Direct account to Company B.
Company B presents the cheque at an HSBC branch counter and requests immediate fund transfer to its account. |
Yes. As the above cheque is withdrawn from Company A's account at the HSBC branch counter (with assistance of a branch staff), this transaction is considered as a counter transaction. |
| 2 |
Mr. Chan (a non-HSBC customer) wants to pay Company A.
Mr. Chan visits an HSBC branch counter and deposits a cheque into Company A's HSBC Business Direct account. |
Yes. As the cheque is deposited to Company A's account at the HSBC branch counter (with assistance of a branch staff), this transaction is considered as a counter transaction. |
| 3 | Company A visits an HSBC branch counter to withdraw / deposit cash or withdraw / deposit a cheque from/to its HSBC Business Direct account. | Yes. As cash or cheque is being withdrawn from / deposited to Company A's account at the HSBC branch counter (with assistance of a branch staff), this transaction is considered as a counter transaction. |
| 4 | Company A deposits a cheque and some cash to its HSBC Business Direct account using the same pay-in slip at an HSBC branch counter. | Yes - but considered as ONE counter transaction only. As Company A is combining his cheque and cash deposits using the same pay-in slip, this transaction is considered as a 'Mixed Deposit' transaction and hence would be considered as ONE transaction (and not separate counter transactions). |
| 5 | Company A deposits five cheques to its HSBC Business Direct account using the same pay-in slip at an HSBC branch counter. | Yes - but considered as ONE counter transaction only. As Company A is combining all its cheque deposits in the same pay-in slip, this transaction is considered as ONE transaction (and not separate counter transactions). |
| 6 | Company A deposits cash / cheque to its HSBC Business Direct account through the Drop & Go counters or drop-in boxes. | No. |
| 7 | Company A transfers money from its HSBC Business Direct account to an account with another local bank using the HSBC branch counter. | No. As this is an interbank fund transfer, this transaction is not considered as a counter transaction for calculating the monthly transaction fee of HSBC Business Direct. |
Note:
- The transactions above include all currency types.
- Any transaction type not included in the above list will not be considered as a 'counter transaction' and will be either charged as per the current counter tariffs or remain free of charge. For details of commercial tariffs, please click here.
c. If I deposit five cheques over the counter, does that constitute five counter transactions or one counter transaction?
If you deposit all five cheques using one common cheque deposit slip, that particular transaction will be treated as one counter transaction.
d. If my customer/debtor pays me by depositing a cheque into my account over a branch counter, does that constitute a counter transaction for my account?
Yes, that transaction is deemed to be a counter transaction.
e. If I wish to deposit some US dollars and have a local cheque to be deposited over the branch counter, how many counter transactions will this be considered?
If you fill up one deposit form and ask for a "Mixed Deposit", it would be counted as one counter transaction.
Frequently asked questions on Time Deposit Account
a. How does time deposit work?
Time deposit is a simple, effective and low-risk investment tool to satisfy your portfolio needs. You will be able to lock in an interest rate for a certain period of time.
b. What if I want to withdraw my funds from the time deposit account before it matures?
In the event of early withdrawal, not only you will lose the contractual interest rate you have been enjoying, you may need to pay a penalty for breaching the time deposit contract.
c. Do I need to apply for a time deposit account separately if I already have a Business Integrated Account?
Your Business Integrated Account comes with a time deposit sub-account. You would be able to place time deposit instructions with your Business Integrated Account at our branches or via our electronic banking channels.
What can I do if I wish HSBC to reconsider my application?
You may send an e-mail to our Customer Relations (e-mail address: Head.of.customer.relations.cmb@hsbc.com.hk) with additional information and documents that support your account opening application for our re-consideration. Please include the below information in your email to facilitate the process:
- Applicant’s company Certificate of Incorporation number / Business Registration Certificate number
- Applicant’s company name
- Date of your meeting in our Centers
- Location of the Center you have visited
- Additional information or documents that support your account opening application
What can I do if I wish HSBC to reconsider my account review decision?
You may send an email to head.of.customer.relations.cmb@hsbc.com.hk on or before 21 calendar days after the issuance of account closure notice with the following information:
a. Company identification number (e.g. Business Registration Certificate number)
b. Company name
c. Date of receiving the account closure notice
d. Company representative name (must be bank account authorised signatory)
e. Additional information or documents supporting the appeal application