UK & Europe accounts: Priority Payments to/from the EEA are changing from 17 May 2021

Last updated: 6 April 2021

Following the end of the UK/EU transition period on 31 December 2020, we’re updating the way we will manage Priority Payments to and from the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA) effective 17 May 2021.

What’s changing?

All European cross-border payments are required to use the shared (SHA) charge code, with the sender and beneficiary each responsible for paying their own bank’s charges. Effective 17 May 2021, Priority Payments between the UK and the EEA will be processed as international payments, may be priced differently* and will no longer be subject to the shared charges requirement.

As a result, when creating Priority Payments to the EEA from UK accounts in HSBCnet or HSBC Connect, you’ll be able to select any of the following charge codes:

Charge option	Description
OUR	The sender of the payment pays all fees applied by banks in relation to the payment, including fees applied by intermediary and beneficiary banks.
BEN	The beneficiary pays all fees applied by banks in relation to the payment, including any sending bank fees.
SHA	All payment fees are split where the sender and the beneficiary each pay the fees applied by their respective banks.
Notes: 1. Eurozone SEPA, CHAPS and local payments will still need to be sent using the ‘SHA’ charge code. 2. There is no change to the charging options available for Receivables Finance accounts which will continue to be sent as ‘OUR’ for EEA and non EEA beneficiaries.

What you need to do

If you use restricted templates for sending payments between the UK and the EEA, after 17 May you’ll need to review your existing templates and select your preferred charge code before initiating payments.

You may also want to review your general templates, standing instructions and any forward-dated payments dated after 17 May and update the charge code as needed.

Additionally, if any subsidiaries, affiliates or other third parties have provided us with authority to add their account(s) to your E-Channels profile, such as HSBCnet or HSBC Connect, please notify them and ensure that they are aware of these changes.

Reminders:

• File upload or HSBC Connect payment files >
  If your European cross-border payment files are submitted without a charge code, the ‘SHA’ code will be automatically applied. Otherwise, we’ll process the payment based on the charge code included in the file.
• Beneficiary and/or intermediary bank charges may have changed >
  Beneficiary and/or intermediary banks may have changed the charges they apply or the way they apply charges. Beneficiaries may see charges deducted from the payment principal.

Find out more

If you have any further questions, please contact your local HSBC representative.

* Standard international payment processing fees and charges apply and may vary by country/region. To learn more about fees and charges, please contact your HSBC representative.