The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited SWIFT/BIC code

SWIFT/BIC code of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

The short code HSBCINBB and the full code HSBCINBBXXX refer to the same bank: The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. Banks worldwide use these codes to direct international transfers to the right institution. In daily life you usually come across it on international invoices, in your banking app and on the account details that The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited provides.

Below you will find the practical side: receiving money at The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, sending money abroad and how to check a SWIFT code before you hit send. The SWIFT code alone does not identify an individual account holder; for that you need the account number or IBAN .

Which of the 6 codes of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited do you need?

Our directory lists 6 SWIFT/BIC codes for The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. Besides the head office code HSBCINBBXXX, there are codes for individual branches and departments.

In most cases you do not need to look up a branch: payments sent to HSBCINBBXXX reach The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited without problems. A branch code only makes sense when the recipient’s bank specifically mentions it, which is more common for business accounts and specialised services.

Not sure which code to use? Check with the recipient, or look at a recent statement from The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. Branch codes are sometimes changed or retired when banks reorganise.

8 or 11 characters: HSBCINBB versus HSBCINBBXXX

The layout of a BIC never changes: four characters for the institution, a two-letter country code and a two-character location code. The result is HSBCINBB, the short form of the code.

XXX at the end of HSBCINBBXXX is not a missing value or an error: it indicates the head office of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. Certain payment forms ask for 11 characters, and then you simply enter XXX after HSBCINBB.

In practice the code is typed in capitals and without spaces. Watch for O versus 0 and I versus 1.

Receiving money from abroad at The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

If you expect money from abroad, give the sender all details at once. Give them your name as the bank knows it, your account number or IBAN, SWIFT code HSBCINBBXXX and your address, which some banks require.

The sender’s bank might also ask for the address of your bank, in which case the Mumbai head office is the usual answer. Double-check the details before you send them – a sender rarely spots a mistake in someone else’s details.

Expect that the incoming amount is below what the sender paid. Correspondent banks can take a fee, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited may charge for incoming payments, and when currencies differ, a markup on the rate comes on top. For business payments, you can agree who bears the costs to avoid a shortfall.

Indian Rupee (INR) and conversion costs

The currency in India is the Indian Rupee (INR). If you send money in a different currency it has to be converted somewhere along the way: by your bank, an intermediary or The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited itself. You rarely see a separate charge for the conversion – the cost sits in the rate.

Which bank converts the payment makes a difference. Check what INR arrives with different services before choosing one.

Exchange rates move during the day. On larger amounts, a seemingly small gap in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

Transfer times and tracking a payment to The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

An international transfer typically takes one to a few business days. Weekends and public holidays in either country add extra days. Compliance checks by one of the banks can also add a delay, regardless of the details.

Many banks are connected to SWIFT gpi, which lets them follow a payment from bank to bank. Every payment carries a unique reference, the UETR. Keep your transfer receipt – you will need it for any trace request.

Only the sending bank is able to request a trace. As a recipient, you can look at your account to see a partial amount.

How up to date is this code?

We gather bank codes from public sources and check our list from time to time. It is possible that a code here is out of date. The figures on this page are based on our own data.

For a payment of any size, always check the code with the recipient’s bank or with the recipient. We are a comparison site and not part of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. If you notice something that is out of date, we welcome a short note via the contact page.

Paying someone abroad from your The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited account

If you transfer money to another country from The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, the fee you see is rarely all of what you pay. There is the fee for the transfer itself, sometimes charges from correspondent banks along the way and, above all, the exchange rate markup if the currency changes.

The markup on the rate is often the largest cost. An easy check: put the rate you get against the mid-market rate for the same moment and look at the difference.

For a lot of routes, a transfer service turns out to be cheaper than a traditional bank transfer – mostly thanks to the rate. On GoldexPay you can compare what recipients receive across providers, so you can pick the cheapest route. You can still keep your account at The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited as the source of the money, while a cheaper service handles the conversion.

Verifying the SWIFT code of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

The most reliable source for the BIC is the recipient’s own bank details – an invoice, a statement or a screenshot from online banking. Check that code against HSBCINBB here.

If the code is wrong, the payment might get stuck, be returned or end up costing more – sometimes after weeks of searching. A mistake in the account number is a bigger problem, because the money may be credited to someone else, so check that just as carefully.

A format check in your banking app merely tells you that the IBAN exists, not that it is the right account. More and more banks compare the payee name with the account before you confirm; take any warning seriously. When you pay someone new, many people start with a small test amount before sending the rest.

Watch out for payment fraud

One of the most common tricks works like this: you receive a message saying that a contact now has a new bank account and that the next payment should go there. That HSBCINBB is a real code is no guarantee that the account is legitimate; criminals use the codes of real banks too.

Check changed bank details through a separate channel like a call to a number from an earlier contract, not by replying to the message. Pressure and secrecy are warning signs – a real supplier can wait a day. Already paid? Call your bank straight away and ask them to start a recall; also report it to the police.

Fraud can also target the receiver. Someone sends more than agreed and wants you to return the extra. A screenshot of a transfer is no proof; only your own account shows what has arrived.