For customers with accounts in the UAE: mandatory Purpose of Payment codes for all cross-border payments and Inter-account Transfers

Last updated: 22 August 2018

Effective 1 September 2018, a valid Purpose of Payment code will be mandatory for all cross-border payments and Inter-account Transfers from accounts held with HSBC UAE.

This update is in line with the Central Bank of UAE’s directive and further to our recent communication regarding Purpose of Payment requirements for domestic and international payments and Inter-account Transfers. This requirement applies for payments submitted on-screen in HSBCnet or via the File Upload service.

What does this mean for me?

As of 1 December 2018, a valid Purpose of Payment code is required in the appropriate fieldor your payment will be rejected.

Please note that the Purpose of Payment code for Goods Bought and Sold (“GDS”) will be removed from the list of accepted codes as of 1 December 2018. Please update your templates as needed.

The full list of updated Purpose of Payment codes is available here >

Action required by 1 September 2018:

To avoid payment rejections, we recommend that you include a valid Purpose of Payment code in the appropriate field of your payments starting on 1 September. Further details of the changes can be found below:

Cross-border and HSBC Inter-account Transfers:
All domestic and cross-border payments, including third-party payments (MT101) and HSBC Inter-account Transfers, require a valid Purpose of Payment code.

Existing payment Templates, Standing Instructions, and Forward-dated payments:
Existing Templates, Standing Instructions, and Forward-dated payments need to be updated to include valid Purpose of Payment codes.

Restricted Templates:
Please contact your HSBCnet System Administrator to update your Restricted Templates with valid Purpose of Payment codes, as needed.

Select here for details on how to include Purpose of Payment codes in your payments >

Find out more

For more information on Purpose of Payment requirements for the UAE, please contact your HSBC representative.