HSBC International Transfer: All you need to know

HSBC is a popular global bank with over 50 branches across India. If you already have an HSBC account or are thinking of opening one, here is how you can make international transfers to and from India with the bank.

Sending money from India with HSBC

You can send money from India to a country overseas - also called an outward remittance- using HSBC. You are required to be an HSBC account holder to do any transfers.

HSBC offers two options:

• A regular outward remittance
• Global Transfers through Global View

The regular outward remittance lets you send money to recipients overseas at other banks. Global Transfers with Global View lets you send money for free to your overseas HSBC accounts.

HSBC account holders in India can only make outward remittance transfers by going to a bank branch in person or talking to a relationship manager. You will not be able to send money from India through Internet banking unless you are an NRE account holder with HSBC. Global View Global Transfers within HSBC can be done through internet banking.

NRE account holders can send money from India abroad online. Here are the steps to send money from your HSBC NRE account to a recipient abroad, including your own non-HSBC account. Remember you will have to register the beneficiary’s details to your account before being able to do a transfer.¹

1. Log into HSBC Personal Internet banking
2. Select “Pay and Transfer” under quick links
3. Choose the account you want to transfer from
4. Select "Your accounts or beneficiaries"
5. Find the beneficiary in the beneficiary list (even if your own account)
6. Select the beneficiary account
7. Select "Continue"
8. Input the amount to send and purpose under “Details”
9. Decide if this will be recurring or a one-time transfer
10. Click Confirm
11. Read and accept the terms and conditions and select “Confirm”
12. Review the transfer
13. Click on “Confirm” to submit

If you want to send money instead to one of your existing HSBC accounts abroad, you can do that too with online banking:²

1. Log into HSBC Personal Internet banking
2. Select ‘Global View’ from the dashboard
3. Select the tab ‘Global Transfer’
4. Select your ‘From’ country
5. Select your ‘To’ country
6. Choose the account you want to use
7. Input the amount to transfer
8. Review the foreign exchange rate HSBC is providing
9. Choose whether it is a one-time or recurring payment
10. Select the purpose of the transfer
11. Submit the transaction

To move money within your HSBC accounts with Global Transfer, you must be registered for Global View. Global View lets you see all of your HSBC accounts worldwide in one place.

Fees and charges

There are fees for using HSBC to transfer outside of India. The first is the transaction fee itself, and the second is the exchange rate.

Here is the transaction fee for outward remittances from India:

0.3% of transfer with a minimum charge of ₹100, and a maximum of ₹1,500 + ₹200 wire charge

Depending on your banking relationship with HSBC, you may be able to avoid fees for international transfers. Check with HSBC or your relationship manager to learn more.

Global Transfer with Global View does not have a transaction fee on transfer, but you will be hit with the exchange rate fee.³

HSBC sets their own exchange rate so the rate you get on your transfer will differ from the rate you see on Google. By weakening the exchange rate ever so slightly from the non-marked-up exchange rate on Google, HSBC is able to take a small fee out of every rupee you convert.

This can really add up quickly when you are making a transfer. Let’s compare exchange rates when sending ₹1,00,000 to the US from India. Here is HSBC’s exchange rate next to Wise’s exchange rate. Wise uses the non-marked up real exchange rate you see on Google:

Wise gets you $15 USD more in the same transfer by having the real exchange rate. A small difference in exchange rates can add up to major differences in costs to you and your recipients.

Time taken

Once the money clears with HSBC, it can take 2-3 business days for the money to arrive in the account. This can vary depending on the geography and type of bank the money is being transferred to.

Sending money to India with HSBC

If you have an HSBC account in India, you can receive transfers from abroad into your local account.

You will need to provide the following details to your sender:

• Your full name and address
• HSBC account number
• The HSBC Swift code: HSBCINBB
• Relationship to the sender
• The purpose of the remittance

Also, make sure that your name and address match the HSBC account details. ⁴

HSBC account holders outside of India can transfer money to India using their HSBC account. Here is how you can do it with Personal internet banking from HSBC in the US:⁵

1. Log into HSBC Personal Internet Banking
2. Click on the My HSBC tab
3. Select Move Money
4. Click on Pay or transfer
5. Choose the account you want to send money from
6. Click on New Payee
7. Enter in the recipient details
8. Enter in the amount to send
9. Review your transaction
10. Confirm and submit the transaction

HSBC accounts outside of India can transfer money to their Indian HSBC account with Global Transfer on Global View. Here are the steps:

1. Log into HSBC Personal Internet banking
2. Select Global View from the dashboard
3. Select the tab Global Transfer
4. Select your ‘From’ country
5. Select your ‘To’ country
6. Choose the account you want to use
7. Input the amount to transfer
8. Review the foreign exchange rate HSBC is providing
9. Choose whether it is a one-time or recurring payment
10. Select the purpose of the transfer
11. Submit the transaction

Fees and charges

There is no cost to receive funds into your HSBC account in India. The sender will absorb the charges for any transfers.

HSBC does charge 2 fees if you are sending money from your HSBC account to another bank or account holder:

1. A transaction fee
2. An exchange rate fee

The first is a transaction fee for making the transfer. The second is a hidden exchange rate fee that is tucked away in the rate that is given to you when you make a transfer. HSBC makes their exchange rate weaker than the real exchange rate on Google to take a cut on the conversion in this hidden fee.

If you are an HSBC account holder trying to send money to India, you will have to go through the process of submitting a transfer request before knowing how much you will be charged for the transfer fee and exchange rate.

HSBC does not let you know ahead of time but will have the fee and rate listed in the Pre-Payment and Receipt Disclosures at the time of the transaction. ⁶

Want to know how much a transfer will cost right up front? Check out Wise- you can get your fee, exchange rate, and delivery time even before you move ahead with your transfer.

Time taken

Once the funds have cleared with HSBC, the funds take 2 more days to process to receive in India.⁺⁷

Generally, SWIFT or wire transfers can take anywhere from 2-5 business days to complete.

Manage money internationally easily with Wise

Wise Web/Android/ iOS app is the fast, easy, and cheap way to send money globally- whether from or to India. Wise lets you send money directly to local bank accounts overseas from one free account from your phone or computer.

And over 11 million people use Wise to send money globally. With just one low transfer fee and the real exchange rate, you can send money while saving on fees and time.

And for even more freedom and ease, check out if the Wise Multi-Currency Account is available in your country. It is one account that lets you hold, send, spend and receive money in multiple currencies.