HSBC cards no longer work in many overseas ATMs
 

HSBC customers have complained the bank has made it more difficult to draw out money abroad.

Many on business trips or holidays have said they were unable to get their hands on their cash from ATM machines.

That's because the bank has switched to chip-embedded cards that connect to a single global payment network.

Previously, access was provided to the Link or Plus networks. Plus is owned by Visa and claims to have access to 1 million ATMs in 170 countries. But HSBC has chosen China's UnionPay as its network provider for the new chip cards.

One Hong Kong resident told the Sunday Morning Post: "Since the issuing of new cards, I have been in London, Istanbul, Tokyo, Morocco, Vancouver, Vienna and Paris.

"I had no joy getting cash in any of them. It always said card error, card invalid, or simply spit the card back out with no explanation."

HSBC did not reply when asked whether changing from Plus and Link would mean customers would have access to fewer banks worldwide.

The Monetary Authority has instructed all banks in Hong Kong to adopt the chip-based technology for ATM cards.

The new cards have an embedded microchip on the face, but retain the magnetic stripe on the back. The new technology is designed to make it harder for criminals to use stolen data to manufacture fake cards.

But in adopting the technology, several major banks forced customers onto the UnionPay network this year, instead of the Plus system.

The UnionPay network was launched on the mainland in 2002 and is operated under the supervision of the People's Bank of China. UnionPay cards are accepted at merchants and ATMs in 141 countries.

But Hongkongers say UnionPay is a poor substitute for Plus and Link, as it is not recognised by as many banks worldwide.

UnionPay-friendly terminals outside Asia can be difficult to find. Even if you do locate one, it may not have been updated to handle the new cards.

HSBC said customers would encounter problems if they had not yet activated their ATM overseas cash withdrawal limit - a new procedure put in place by the bank to improve security.

But customers said it was the change from using the Plus and Link networks to UnionPay that was causing the problems. An Australian resident in Hong Kong said only National Bank, Citibank and HSBC would accept the card in his home country.

An industry source said HSBC put the networks out to tender and decided which one to use based on the best deal.

An HSBC spokesman said: "For security reasons, we are allowed to link to only one pay system - we use UnionPay."

He added that ATM card customers can withdraw cash from all HSBC ATMs in the world - except in Argentina, Brazil, France, Greece, Malta, New Zealand, Panama and Turkey - as well as from ATMs covered by the UnionPay network.

The bank aims to complete the card replacement process by the end of March next year.

A Monetary Authority spokesman said it was a purely commercial decision for a bank to choose which network they used.

SCMP...12/5/2013

I've been left cashless abroad because of this change, and has taken my loathing for HSBC to new lows. Of course, you CAN draw cash on your credit card.....funny how the method that still makes them money off you still works!
Will be closing all my accounts with this utterly contemptible bank soon.:yuk:

Yeah what a pain the a@@ that is!!:* I went to Europe in February and couldn't access my bank account, had to live off the credit card for everything. Very annoying to say the least!

However, there is a way around this. You can link your savings account to your Visa card together with a pin. This will then enable you to access your savings through any Plus ATM, just like the old days :O

Bottom line is that, if something makes sense and makes your life easy, then HSBC will say CANNOT-LA!

I was in Canada and tried to withdraw from my HK savings account using my HSBC visa card. The machine sat thinking for about 5 minutes and then swallowed my card. Tried to get the bank to give it back but they said it was automatically destroyed when the machine took it. I Had to get it declared lost/stolen with HSBC and then a new one was issued - for a fee of course. All my autopays had to be changed.

HSBC customer service was USELESS! :mad:

Complete nightmare.

Side note - new policy with HSBC, you have have to set up your card to allow overseas withdrawals from now on.This can only be done at any HSBC ATM in Hong Kong. I did this with my new card and with trepidation tried another withdrawal on my next visit to Canada. Thankfully everything worked fine this time.

It seems as if I had a very lucky escape, as I almost changed to HSBC last year after a series of problems with my own bank. I had an intuitive feeling about 'the devil you know' and my intuition was correct.

I arrived in Istanbul a fortnight ago after 'setting up o/s ATM limits' to find that my card would not work in ANY ATM, not the HSBC, Citibank or even Union Pay machines as it constantly came back with "chip card error".

THEN I was delighted to find that HSBC 'the worlds bank' wouldn't change RMB or HKD!

Thankfully the branch manager there was patient and worked non-stop for 5 hours against HSBC HK to get an 'emergency encashment' for me.

I'm changing to Citibank!

Also inconvenienced by the above. We were all informed of this new security measure however, and as usual, most of us just wipe our arses with any correspondance from these pr1cks, instead of actually reading it.

Flat out lie....

It would be a lie if he'd said that. I'm not trying to defend HSBC :E but the article actually said:

"He added that ATM card customers can withdraw cash from all HSBC ATMs in the world - except in Argentina, Brazil, France, Greece, Malta, New Zealand, Panama and Turkey - as well as from ATMs covered by the UnionPay network."

For those who haven't set their overseas withdrawl limit, you DO NOT need to do so on an HSBC ATM in Hong Kong. You can do it online very easily, I just did mine a minute ago.

Down in OZ and have I the same problem. Tried Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Westpac(the 3 biggest banks in OZ - ) and it wouldn't work. Rang HSBC and they gave me the location of the nearest HSBC ATM - just a few hundred miles away. However, they do work in most NAB ATM's, which although not prolific, may save some pain.

The situation is, as the SCMP reports, due to the switch to the Union Pay system, the Chinese based and CONTROLLED provider. I won't go down the trust road.

I also noted the apparent deflection from the main issue by HSBC spin doctors in bringing in such things as the requirement to activate the ATM for overseas transactions. HSBC and Cx Corporate Communications staff must go to the same Spin School.

I ran into the same problem in Germany. I tried Deutsche Bank with no joy. Volksbank didn't work either. The only bank that worked was Sparkasse. The world's local bank, don't think so.
As an aside, has anyone figured out a decent car rental place in Frankfurt. I couldn't rent a car from the Lufthansa Carpool. CX is no longer on the list.

I was surprised to fine that on my annual trip to Italy the regular ATMs I used were not now accepting my card. On trying other ATM's nothing.

Called HSBC and they said no banks in Italy now worked. Well thanks for telling me! I had spent hours prior to my trip ensuring HSBC security knew I would be using my cards in Italy and so please don't cancel them ( as they've done before ).

I had to use the emergence cash advance off my credit card to get money. HSBC waived the charges after my phone fury! Deutche BAnk was the only bank that could do this and I had the branch manager and deputy manager at work trying to make it happen. They said HSBC was a very difficult bank to do business with and the whole process took hours instead of the normal 1o minutes.

You can add Indonesia to the list of countries where your HSBC cards won't work. The only ATMs that will handle them are HSBC and Citibank, which are very few and far between.

Also, standard chartered also uses union pay, so no joy there. If anyone can come up with a non union pay bank in HK it would be much appreciated.

On this trip.. Chile and Hawaii.. No joy.. Only happend to have decent funds in another account which worked.
I can believe what absolute c*nts HSBC is to try this.. They are supposed to be a world bank

Just came back from Mexico and was denied at an HSBC bank machine there.

HSBC Card ATM
 

I always assumed that the HSBC card would not be honored by overseas banks other than HSBC ATM machines.
Never been disappointed.

Now cancelled HSBC for other reasons, glf

What do you expect from a company that launders money for Mexican drug cartels and as yet has still to be properly punished for it. Not to mention the role they play in illegally naked short selling gold and silver prices. This institution like most other banks you find in HK is an utterly contemptible institution with zero shame!

HSBC cards
 

Okay hope this helps
For any ATM that displays cirrus or plus cards accepted, simply use your credit cards along with PIN and it will give you the opportunity to withdraw cash from your savings with No charges, or so they say, It works , but I have yet to see if there are any charges applied If there are I will be phoning the bank to complain but I was assured that charges would to be raised

For anyone in Canada use HSBC or Scotia Bank with your new chipped ATM card which will work with either bank.

I have had some issues in the states and had to use my credit cards,

And I thought that the UAE HSBC was bad!!!!

This where the cards should work.

Destinations-UnionPay

Im glad to see that it will work in Zimbabwe and Iraq...yeah..:mad::ugh:

Which Kong kong bank card works everywhere? Standard charter? Citi bank?

I must say that I did not actually click on any of the country links...but I would not expect anything less than that from such a high class institution.

[YOUTUBE]
Just a reminder of the scumbags that are HSBC.

How timely....

After several recent trips overseas, I lost it last week after finally locating a Union Pay ATM in Canada only to be rejected yet again. I telephoned HSBC to lodge a complaint. I told them how rediculous it was that the main banking facility from an international city such as Hong Kong is peddling customers a bank card that is totally useless outside Hong Kong. It would be laughable if not so inconvenient to people stuck abroad without access to their hard earned funds. What mid-level manager thinking was allowed to run amok and come up with this stupidity? Who approved this?

The inertia that HSBC was running on has apparently dissipated......

Any thoughts on other "world/local" banks?
 

How is DBS, or any of the other banks here? any experience? I was stuck in Chile with no ATM servies from HSBC.

Is this strictly a problem for HKG HSBC cards?
I have an HSBC account in Malta and that works just fine all over the place.

Had problems withdrawing money in Cyprus couple of months ago.

M.80

I assume there were two reasons that HSBC changed to UnionPay.

1) It is cheaper for them. They need to economise everywhere in their business as they keep losing a bundle on investment banking.

2) Beijing said if you want to continue to do business in HK here is our system and you will use it. We shall give you a really good deal on it.

As a business strategy it makes sense. As a tactical improvement to clients it is a joke.

Mysteriously in Africa there are many banks that accept UnionPay. I guess it is so that the hundreds of thousands of engineers, bankers, developers and assorted hangers on can get a wad out of an ATM.

Go with the flow.

Is this related to the overseas banking approval that was required to be given months ago? I got some crap in the mail about it too.

I did it when it popped up during a transaction using a HK HSBC ATM. I can't remember exactly what it was for but it definitely had something to do with withdrawing money from overseas ATMs it may have just been the allowed daily amount of $$$ but if its defaulted to $0 and activated recently perhaps this is the problem.

However I did have an issue with an ATM in Brisbane arrivals but the departures level was fine (ANZ bank ATM).

Unfortunately not in Sth Africa.

Doesn't work at HSBC ATMs in France either.

Not so mysterious if you consider China's neocolonial ambitions for the Dark Continent.

Any bank that makes you feel it's a rare privilege for you to meet with your money is a den of thieves. As it not-so-shockingly turns out... that's precisely what HSBC are. We're also fishing for alternatives. For one, no mortgages with HSBC, second, taking advantage of HSBC's precious metals paper dump to transfer digi dollars to cold hard metal. HSBC have decided to be gigantic pricks. We'll treat them accordingly.

I am moving to Standard Charter, not to big a fan of City Bank, ( big bail out recipient) but I am keeping my H.S.B.C account open with H.K.$ 99. From being a Premier member to annoying them with less then $ 100 might get their attention, if not just to irritate them to run such a small account.

Broadband, ABSA is UnionPay compliant, I have used my HSBC card with them a couple of times for HK cash.

There may be others but Standard Bank (different from Standard Chartered as you know but others who read here may not...) will not accept the Chinese card processor.

H.S.B.C.
 

Hot Smelly Bottom Corporation

HSBC
 

Its time to occupy HSBC.

They are by far the Worlds Worst Bank - The only local bit is their thinking!
They provide no service - eg the cash cards/ATMS
Charge every which way - eg cash cards/ATMS
Embezzeled using the LIBOR rate fixing - admitted to the UK Govt and fined
Help launder money - admitted guilt in the US and fined.
Their Internet Banking has more roadblocks than the road from Baghdad Airport to the City.

HSBC
 

And no one at the top is fired or goes to jail......

HSBC is a franchise operation
 

Just like Starbucks, or McDonalds.

So do not expect to receive a world wide quality of service.

Sorry that's what you do get from the FF Franchises.


Glf

HSBC
 

This is not new. I held an ATM card with HSBC, previously Martins bank in Jersey since the late '60's and then several years ago it would not work in Canada or the US, where I just happen to live??

Many letters and 'phone calls that never got me to the letter signer?? and even a vist to their fancy New York empire, nothing happened and no change.

Pulled my account from Jersey and the wifes, not small, account from the UK never to do business with them again.

The lack of service together with the huge charges, for anything, make them a bank to be avoided at all cost. I am sure there may be others but HSBC have been doing this for many years.

Speedbird 48.

In South Africa you can only use FNB (First National Bank) with the new UnionPay card. Max ATM withdrawal is R2000 with a transaction fee of R25 per withdrawal.

I take it you guys haven't been in HK for a few months? Every time I've stuck my card in an ATM here for the past few months its warned me to activate the overseas ATM function.
Easy to do and no probs with the card anywhere once it was done.
Not sure what all the fuss is about. :rolleyes: