If you're a payment service provider (PSP), we can help you to connect to us and, where appropriate, to connect directly to the UK's central payment systems. Here you'll find information on the various ways you can connect to HSBC Bank plc, how we charge for our Indirect Access services and what eligibility criteria we apply when offering services.
You can use a HSBC Bank plc bank account to originate and receive payments on behalf of your customers, using the same payments and cash management services available to HSBC’s business customers. These services are explained in the HSBC business website.
Contact
If you are not already a HSBC Bank plc. customer and wish to enquire about HSBC's Indirect Access Services, in the first instance please contact Akshat Saharia in our Indirect Access Team at: indirect.access@hsbc.com
Please include the name of your organisation, your contact details and a brief description of the type of Indirect Access services you are interested in.
This information will only be used by us in order to provide a response to your specific enquiry.
Alternatively, you can call Akshat Saharia, in our Indirect Access Team on 0207 992 3619.
If you are an existing HSBC Bank plc. customer, please contact your Relationship Manager or your Client Service Manager to discuss your requirements.
HSBC Bank Plc’s Registered Office Address:
HSBC Bank plc
8 Canada Square
London E14 5HQ
United Kingdom
Fees
We do not levy up-front participation or entry fees in respect of participation in our Indirect Access Services. Our fees are based on the services you use and will be split between file charges and per item charges. The charges you pay will be based on the volume of transactions you use, with individual item prices based on volume bands and will be advised by monthly itemised invoicing. We may charge for project management to cover implementation costs. All ancillary fees (where applicable) will be explained in detail and agreed in relationship to each service provided.
Eligibility Criteria
To use HSBC Bank Plc's Indirect Access services, you must satisfy certain criteria.
You will need to be a customer of HSBC Bank Plc. If you are not already a customer, you must meet one or more of the following criteria to establish a relationship
- Qualify as a Relevant Financial Institution (RFI)
- Turnover not less than £6.5m
- Total Assets not less than £3.26m
- No less than 50 employees
If you meet the above criteria or already maintain a relationship with HSBC Bank Plc you will need to:
- Satisfy our risk-based criteria for customer selection. You will be asked detailed questions about your own and your customers' payments, as well as your wider business activities (please see requirements in the Next Steps section below).
- You must also be registered with or authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for activities that include provision of payment services or be an EEA-passported Payment Service Provider.
- Demonstrate a satisfactory operational and business model, financial status and experience.
- Comply with the appropriate UK payment system(s)’ rules (Bacs, CHAPS, Faster Payments and Image clearing scheme).
- You must have a strong Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Policy in place that also includes Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Sanctions (including United Nations, European Union and UK HM Treasury) and Terrorist Financing. We require proof of such policy in order to verify the following:
- Policy and procedures in place to comply with UK and EU Payment law regulations.
- Policy and procedures in place to report any suspicious activity to the National Crime Agency.
- Policy and procedures in place to identify Politically Exposed Persons.
- Robust processes in place to identify and verify your customers and their underlying transactions.
- Appropriate screening and monitoring of new and existing staff in line with your policies.
- Staff and customer AML, Sanctions, Terrorist Financing, suspicious activity reporting and record keeping training in place.
- Audit trail of how money is received and remitted, to ensure payment transparency.
- Your procedures with evidence of your compliance with all other regulatory requirements relevant to your business activities e.g. tax, or regulated lending.
- Records management procedures in place to retain customer information for the appropriate period in accordance with your regulatory permission and relevant data protection law.
- We are only able to provide Indirect Access Services to clients that meet our minimum revenue thresholds (where applicable).
Next Steps
- Your enquiry will be directed to the relevant team that will be responsible for considering your request and a member of that team will contact you. We will explore your requirements in more detail and advise what information will be required to progress with an application for indirect access.
- It is important that we consider whether Indirect Access services are appropriate for you and so we will only accept your application if we are able to fully meet your requirements within the appropriate regulatory and legal obligations.
- The following are examples of the type of information we may request from you at different stages of the application, to inform our decision:
- Description of the nature of the PSP’s UK business
- Confirmation of, or evidence of application for, authorisation by the FCA (or equivalent EEA Authority) for payment services permission.
- Description of the services you provide, or plan to provide to customers and your requirements for general banking services and access to payment system(s).
- Information on the types of customers you serve or plan to serve, along with the countries where you operate. We will need to understand the types of payments you intend to offer and whether they are domestic or cross-border, to enable us to make an assessment on our ability to support your requirements.
- Current and future funding needs to enable an assessment of your credit requirements, including details of any existing relationships with other banks.
- Daily and annual actual or predicted volumes and aggregate payment values to assess suitability for the indirect access services, impacts on payment system settlement values, market significance and the overall impact for HSBC’s liabilities and risks. The information is important to allow HSBC to make an assessment on any operational impacts, risks and capacity requirements and to determine applicable charges.
- Know your customer requirements will include evidence of your company registration, organisation ownership, sources of funding, governance and structure, along with the details of authorised individuals.
- Information on your senior management’s background and experience in this sector.
- Senior management must hold the appropriate qualifications and have acceptable risk profiles and comply with the FCA’s senior manager regime as applicable.
- Confirmation of your adherence to applicable laws, regulations, legal obligations and appropriate codes of conduct.
- Extended customer due diligence requirements for Payment Service Providers will require evidence of policies, processes and compliance controls in place to assess compliance with Anti -Money Laundering, Sanctions and Financial Crime regulations and PRA and FCA conduct requirements.
- Explanation on the specific risks posed by your current or proposed operating model and these risks must be sufficiently mitigated through policies, processes, governance, procedures and the potential use of technology.
Code of Conduct
HSBC Bank Plc. is a subscriber to the voluntary Code of Conduct for Indirect Access Providers.
Further information about the Code and a link to the document itself can be found at www.wearepay.uk/what-we-do/payment-systems/access-to-payment-systems/code-of-conduct-for-indirect-access-providers/
Find out more
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