FAQs: Debit Cards

HSBC China Debit Cards are multi-currency debit cards. They must be linked with a Renminbi Settlement Account as the primary account and may also be linked with a maximum of two Renminbi Settlement Accounts or Foreign Currency Savings Accounts (non-joint account) as supplementary accounts. HSBC China Debit Cards have the functions of cash withdrawal, fund transfer and Point of Sale spending. They can be used to conduct banking transactions at HSBC China ATMs, domestic and overseas UnionPay ATMs and Point of Sale Terminals and HSBC Group ATMs outside Mainland China. For details, please refer to the HSBC China Debit Cards Service Guide.

Any individual who has a Renminbi Settlement Account (sole personal account) with HSBC China may apply for HSBC China Debit Cards by presenting their valid identification documents. HSBC Premier customers (with a sole Premier account) can apply for an HSBC Premier Debit Card.

No. HSBC China Debit Card holders can enjoy all the convenience and benefits without paying an annual fee.

Within China, HSBC China debit cardholders can withdraw cash in RMB at UnionPay ATMs, or make purchases via UnionPay Point of Sale Terminals, in which case the primary RMB settlement account linked to the debit card will be debited. Cardholders may also withdraw cash in RMB from both primary and supplementary RMB accounts at HSBC China ATMs.

Outside of China, cardholders may withdraw cash in local currency at UnionPay (non-HSBC Group) ATMs or make purchases via UnionPay Point of Sale terminals, in which case the primary RMB settlement account linked to the debit card will be debited. Cardholders may withdraw cash in local currency from their foreign currency accounts (if any) linked to their debit cards at HSBC Group ATMs outside China and subject to local laws. 

Attention: Overseas transactions through HSBC Group ATMs with the UnionPay logo will be processed through the HSBC global ATM network, and cash can be withdrawn from your foreign currency account. If you want to withdraw cash through overseas HSBC Group ATMs (except Taiwan), please ensure there are sufficient funds in the foreign currency account linked to your debit card. In Hong Kong SAR(Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), you can even choose to withdraw the local currency from the RMB primary account or the foreign currency account linked to your card through HSBC ATMs (with the UnionPay logo).

*Please note that available functions also depend on the particular ATM. For details, please refer to the HSBC China Debit Cards Service Guide.

According to prevailing mainland China regulations, your daily withdrawal is subject to the following limits:

RMB account

You can withdraw cash from your RMB account through domestic ATMs or through CUP overseas ATMs (which are not HSBC Group ATMs) with daily cumulative limit of RMB 20,000 or its equivalent. Besides,

• The cumulative limit of your debit card through domestic ATMs is RMB 20,000 for one day;
• The cumulative limit of your debit card through CUP ATMs outside mainland China is RMB 10,000 or its equivalent for one day if the cumulative limit and balance of RMB account could support it.
  

Foreign currency account 

You can withdraw local currency outside mainland China from your foreign currency account through HSBC Group ATMs (with or without CUP logo, except in Taiwan) with daily cumulative limit of RMB 10,000 or its equivalent. 

The corresponding adjustable amount can be banned due to relevant risk management. If your adjustment request is blocked, please contact the Bank for consultation.

Yearly cumulative limit of cash withdrawal outside mainland China of bank cards by person

The cumulative limit of cash withdrawal outside mainland China of your all bank cards (including supplementary card) is RMB 100,000 or its equivalent for one calendar year (i.e. from 1 January to 31 December). Should the limit is exceeded, cash withdrawal outside of Mainland China will not be allowed in the year and the following year.

For your convenience and safety, HSBC China debit card can set a Daily Cumulative POS Spending Limit, within which separate limits are set for UnionPay online and Apple Pay payment functions. You can adjust the daily cumulative POS limit or UnionPay online payment limit within the specified limit through HSBC mobile banking, 24-hour customer service hotline or approaching branch (UnionPay online payment limit can be adjusted through HSBC online banking). The corresponding adjustable amount or channels can be banned due to relevant risk management. If your adjustment request is blocked, please contact the Bank for consultation.

• HSBC China defaults a daily cumulative POS Spending Limit in an amount of RMB 50,000 to debit card to protect you from potential security threats or loss. You can apply for setting or adjusting the cumulative daily POS Spending Limit (which is capped to RMB 5 million for Global Private Banking, Premier Elite customers, and RMB 1 million for other cards) according to your needs of both Debit Card usage and risk control. If you fail to apply for setting a cumulative daily POS Spending Limit, a default Limit in an amount of RMB 50,000 will be applied.
• Within the daily cumulative POS Spending Limit, using debit card via Apple Pay defaults a single limit of RMB 10,000 and a daily limit of RMB 50,000, which could not be adjusted.
• Within the daily cumulative POS Spending Limit, using debit card via UnionPay online payment defaults a single payment limit of RMB 10,000 and a daily limit of RMB 50,000. You can adjust within the cap limit.

In addition, the Bank has a limit control on each single transaction of overseas POS spending at selected merchants according to relevant regulations of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

You can change the PIN at HSBC China ATMs. Here's how:

1. Enter your original PIN and press ENTER
   
2. Select "Other Function" and then "Change PIN"
3. Follow the instructions to enter NEW PIN twice and then Original PIN once

Please contact our service hotline or visit an HSBC China branch in person with your valid identification documents and your debit card if you want to apply for supplementary account adjustment. The primary account linked to the debit card can't be changed, therefore we suggest you link the most commonly used account to your debit card as a primary account and link the other accounts you need as supplementary accounts. If you have to change the primary account, please visit an HSBC China branch in person with your valid identification documents and your debit card to cancel the old card and apply for a new one.

If you are unable to withdraw cash via an ATM or are refused payment for a purchase via a Point of Sale terminal, it might be caused by the following possible reasons:

• Card/account problem
  

For example: the magnetic strip at the back of the debit card is damaged, there is insufficient balance in the debit card account, or the cash withdrawal amount exceeds the prescribed limit.

• System problem
  

For example: ATM/Point of Sale equipment error, busy network or breakdown.

Cardholders may be able to tell whether the card is damaged by using the balance enquiry function or using different cards at the same ATM. You can also call HSBC China 24-hour customer service hotline, the number of which is on the back of your debit card.

What is PINless function?

PINless function is a quick payment solution jointly provided by UnionPay and HSBC. Through the Unionpay terminals of designated merchants, cardholders can make the transactions by tapping the debit card or mobile device with PINless function within RMB 1,000. and it requires no PIN or signature during the payment process. The issuing bank can set or adjust the functions including limit or scope, based on risk management policy. Currently, the Bank do not support this function when used debit card by overseas merchants. The issuing bank can set or adjust the functions including limit or scope, based on risk management policy. Currently, the Bank do not support this function when used debit card by overseas merchants.

How to use PINless

1. QuickPass
   Tap the debit card with contactless chip or ApplePay mobile device at the UnionPay POS terminals of designated merchants. PINless payment is not supported in the means of using magnetic stripe card or plugging in the chip.
2. Transaction limit control
   The PINless transaction limit and daily limit at domestic designated merchants are RMB 1,000 and 3,000 respectively by default.
   To ensure a consistent customer experience as well as a smooth process at merchants, the PINless transaction limit is not adjustable. The PINless transaction limit and daily limit is subject to the UnionPay announced amount.

Please contact HSBC China immediately.

HSBC 24-hour Premier customer service hotline:

400-820-8828

HSBC 24-hour Advance customer service hotline:

400-820-8878

Please dial the country code of mainland China +86 if you are calling from overseas, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, or Taiwan

You should apply through your mobile banking app, call customer service hotline or visit an HSBC China branch in person with your valid identification documents and your debit card for card replacement. For security reasons, the magnetic stripe and chip of the old card must be destroyed by yourself or returned for our destruction before we can issue a new card (except in cases where the card is stolen or lost). 

You should apply to reset PIN by calling customer service hotline or through online banking. A reset PIN will be mailed to your correspondence address maintained at the bank or branch for your collection within about seven working days. You can also apply to reset PIN in person at an HSBC China branch with your valid identification documents and your debit card.

If it's an HSBC ATM, you may call our 24-hour service hotline on 400-820-8878 and our representatives will provide you with information about the detailed eligibility, address and procedure for card collection.

You should contact the owner-bank of the ATM holding your card and the card will be disposed of according to its related procedures. If you can't immediately contact the bank holding your card, you should call us to report the loss verbally to ensure the card is safely protected. Then you can choose to go to an HSBC China branch to apply for a new card or go to the bank holding your card to collect the old card.

If you want to transfer money from other banks to your HSBC China debit card, you can transfer the funds to your personal account attached to the debit card. For the number of the inbound account, you must fill in the account number. Please do not fill in the debit card number because it may result in transfer failure.

A debit card can be linked with a maximum of three accounts: a primary account, a secondary account, and a third account.

When you travel overseas you can withdraw the destination country's local currency through China UnionPay network ATMs from the Renminbi primary account linked to your card, or through HSBC ATMs from your foreign currency account linked to your card. For more details, please refer to "HSBC China Debit Card Service Guide".

If you hope to withdraw cash from your designated foreign currency account, please make a supplementary account adjustment by following these two steps: 

1. Apply to link the designated foreign currency account to your debit card as the secondary account.
       This will help you to withdraw cash conveniently via HSBC ATMs in various countries since it has priority to be accessed via HSBC ATMs in some countries e.g. UK. 
2. To finalise the change to your supplementary accounts, please use your debit card at HSBC China ATMs to complete any of the following actions: transactions, balance enquiry, cash withdrawal and screen language change.
   

Yes. HSBC China Debit Card supports UnionPay online payment.

There are two limits, the single payment limit and cumulative daily payment limit. The default single payment limit is RMB 10,000 while the default cumulative daily payment limit is RMB 50,000. You can customize your limits (capped to the default amount) via HSBC China Online Banking, Mobile Banking or by calling our 24/7 service hotline on 400-820-8878. (Please dial the country code of mainland China +86 if you are calling from overseas, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, or Taiwan).The above limits are subject to the cumulative daily Point of Sale spending limit of your HSBC China Debit Cards which is RMB 50,000. The corresponding adjustable amount or channels can be banned due to relevant risk management policy. If your adjustment request is blocked, please contact the Bank for consultation.

No. The UnionPay online payment is only linked to your Renminbi account.

The UnionPay online payment service is available to customers as a free service. HSBC China will not charge an extra fee from our customers.

Yes. You need to visit an HSBC China branch in person to activate UnionPay online payment function per regulatory requirement. If you need the recurring service of UnionPay Debit Card, you still need to ensure the online payment function has been activated.

Via online banking, you can adjust your UnionPay online payment limits and change your mobile phone number that you register with HSBC China for the SMS Alert Messaging Service (SAMS). Therefore it's highly recommended that you register for online banking in order to enjoy a more secure and convenient service. Without online banking, you still need to apply for the SMS Alert Messaging Service (SAMS) so you can get verification with the registered mobile phone number.

The mobile phone number that you input should the one that you use for the HSBC China SMS service. Please have your mobile phone on. Mobile phones outside of Mainland China do not support this service. 

The mobile phone number is important for the verfication, so you must ensure that this number is the same with the one that you use for HSBC China. If you do need to change the mobile phone number, you need to contact HSBC China to update your mobile phone number. You can then change your mobile phone number that you use for UnionPay Online the next day. You can also call our Phone Banking hotline to complete the above procedures.

After activation, you need to log on to China UnionPay to complete the online signing and identity verification. After that, you can enjoy the UnionPay online payment services.

1. Why PINless?
   PINless is a matured international payment method,which is mainly used on public transportations, foods and beverages, department stores, supermarkets and other necessities spending, fulfilling the needs of a swift payment process and improving customers' experience.  PINless transaction provides support for customers to travel conveniently by taking public transportation, by eliminating the inconveniences of ticket purchase by cash in peak hours, recharging, carrying the physical card and loss reporting.
2. Is there any notification on providing the PINless function?
   Debit card PINless function must be successfully enabled through the HSBC China Mobile Banking app or service hotline 95366 before it can be used.  To protect the cardholders' benefits, HSBC has published the notice on the official public website and incorporated it in Debit Card Terms and Conditions of HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited and Debit Card ApplePay Terms and Conditions.
3. How to disable or enable the PINless function?
   Due to potential risks of transactions without password verification, cardholders can disable the function when they don’t need it. To protect the cardholders' benefits, cardholders can enable or disable at their own discretion. Cardholders can set the function through mobile banking with immediate effect. Alternatively, cardholders may call service hotline 95366, to change the setting.
   
4. How will the debit card usage be affected if the PINless function is disabled?
   QuickPass transactions within the amount of RMB 1,000 at the domestic designated merchants may be rejected if the PINless function is disabled. Cardholders can complete the transaction by inserting in the debit card into POS instead.  QuickPass transactions above RMB 1,000 are not affected.
   
5. Can the PINless transaction limit be adjusted?
   The PINless transaction limit and daily limit at domestic designated merchants are RMB 1,000 and 3,000 respectively by default.
   To ensure a consistent customer experience as well as a smooth process at merchants, the PINless transaction limit is not adjustable.