HSBC only allow over the counter withdrawals of £1000 per day....

vikingaero

I withdrew £5,000 in cash from RBS. I called up to "order" the cash and the lady said: "No need, just bring your driving licence or passport and one extra ID such as a credit card/utility bill in case the cashier wants to make extra checks."

I went in. Plugged my debit card and PIN in and handed over my Driving Licence. Money was counted and put into an envelope, sealed and passed over for me to quickly conceal.

mgdavid

vikingaero wrote: »

I withdrew £5,000 in cash from RBS. I called up to "order" the cash and the lady said: "No need, just bring your driving licence or passport and one extra ID such as a credit card/utility bill in case the cashier wants to make extra checks."

I went in. Plugged my debit card and PIN in and handed over my Driving Licence. Money was counted and put into an envelope, sealed and passed over for me to quickly conceal.

Good to hear - exactly how it should be. :T

henm2

With HSBC due to their enhanced anti money laundering procedures (AML) it is likely you would need in addition to the ID some documentation to what the large cash transaction relates to.
So for example if it is for building work and the builder will not take an electronic payment direct to their account you will need the builder's invoice for the amount (tax evasion is money laundering)

BMN

I rarely use cash for anything and therefore consider this a bit of a non-issue but the terms and conditions do state:

We, or any other member of the HSBC Group, may take whatever action we consider appropriate to meet any obligations, either in the UK or elsewhere in the world, relating to the prevention of fraud, money laundering, terrorist activity, bribery, corruption, tax evasion and the provision of financial and other services to persons who may be subject to economic or trade sanctions. This may include, but is not limited to, investigating and intercepting payments into and out of your account(s) (particularly in the case of international transfers of funds), investigating the source of or intended recipient of funds, sharing information and documents with domestic and overseas tax authorities and withholding income from your account and transferring it to such tax authorities. It may also include making enquiries to establish whether a person is subject to sanctions. Exceptionally, this may delay the carrying out of your instructions or the receipt of cleared funds but, where possible, we will advise you of the reasons for and likely length of any delay. If we are not satisfied that a payment in or out of your account is lawful, we may refuse to deal with it.

Also, as mentioned earlier, a requirement is placed on organisations to maintain policies and procedures to prevent activities related to money laundering and terrorist financing.

If HSBC think this policy is appropriate to combat money laundering then so be it. Just comply with it and you can get your money. Nobody at the bank really cares what you're spending the cash on.

henm2

The real drive behind HSBC's new AML policies is the fine they had and the deferred prosecution agreement from the Americans
http://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/364159/HSBC-given-1-2bn-fine-and-probation

They are scared stiff of potentially losing their American banking licence and that is why so many of their procedures worldwide have changed. Without the ability to trade in US dollars much of their business worldwide would be wiped out. So during the 5 year probation period in particular they can not afford any more slip ups on anti money laundering

Dw1983

I withdrew £11000 from co op they wanted 3 days notice and Id but that was it

henm2

This is now being reported today by the BBC
"HSBC imposes restrictions on large cash withdrawals"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25861717

and there is a suggestion by the HSBC spokesperson quoted in the news item that the policy might be changed and slightly relaxed in future.

grumbler

henm2 wrote: »

This is now being reported today by the BBC
"HSBC imposes restrictions on large cash withdrawals"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25861717

HSBC wrote:

However, following feedback, we are immediately updating guidance to our customer facing staff to reiterate that it is not mandatory for customers to provide documentary evidence for large cash withdrawals, and on its own, failure to show evidence is not a reason to refuse a withdrawal.

They must be really stupid if they need some 'feedback' to realise this.

cepheus

It seems that HSBC require evidence of why you want your own money! :eek:

Some HSBC customers have been prevented from withdrawing large amounts of cash because they could not provide evidence of why they wanted it, the BBC has learnt.

Listeners have told Radio 4's Money Box they were stopped from withdrawing amounts ranging from £5,000 to £10,000.

HSBC admitted it has not informed customers of the change in policy, which was implemented in November.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25861717


perhaps we should say "er. it's to pay for my heroin deal and AK47 order"

"That's fine sir , we fully understand, do you require our privileged account in the Caymans?

HSBC 'sorry' for aiding Mexican drugs lords, rogue states and ...

see also http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/hsbc-feels-heat-from-regulator-over-criminal-accounts-in-its-jersey-banks-8300181.html

zerog

As an aside, HSBC in Hong Kong does not permit customers to buy more than 20000 Chinese Yuan per day. If a customer holds a CNY account, they cannot have a power of attorney for someone else. This is because according to them, the government restricts the purchase of CNY.

However, no other bank in Hong Kong has this restriction and you can easily go to a bureau de change and buy/sell 100000 or more, with spreads as low as 0.3%