HSBC Special: HSBC Expat Credit Card Application

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Disclaimer: The information contained herein is subject to change at any time, without notice. The author and publisher do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of the information provided and accept no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions. This article should not be construed as offering any form of investment, tax, or legal advice. Always consult with a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. By continuing to read this article, you acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for your own financial choices and outcomes.

Let's share the card first.

First, here is the physical card:

Currently, all cards in the HSBC UK region have been replaced with the "new" design (referring to the pig nose and vertical card), while the official website still shows the old card design:

The card design on Apple Pay is similar to the official website, but lacks the metallic sheen of the Mastercard World Elite Logo:

How to Apply#

Submit Application Form#

You must already have an HSBC Expat account to apply for a credit card. HSBC Expat currently offers two credit cards, the Premier World Credit Card and the Premier World Elite Credit Card. The latter has an annual fee of 195 GBP but offers unlimited Lounge Key benefits (no guests allowed, includes restaurant benefits), which can be considered as paying for VIP lounge access.

Applications must be submitted via a form and cannot be applied for online. You can click here to download the application forms:

You need to print the form, fill it out, and scan it. If you want to sign electronically, you cannot use automatically generated signatures from Adobe / DocuSign, but must provide a "handwritten signature," meaning you must sign using your finger or a stylus / touchpad.

Then mail the form to

HSBC Expat

HSBC House

Esplanade, St Helier

Jersey, JE1 1HS

or send it via email to expat.asia.pacific@hsbc.com. Although HSBC Expat may tell you to send it to other email addresses, there are certain issues:

expatinfo@hsbc.com: no longer in use
expat@hsbc.com: send only, does not receive
hsbc.expat@hsbc.com: still in use, but often no response

Only expat.asia.pacific@hsbc.com can directly contact the Relationship Manager Team and usually responds quickly. It is uncertain whether non-Asia Pacific customers can contact them for assistance; if not, you will have to find another email address.

Submit Supporting Information#

Due to the low threshold for applying for HSBC Expat accounts, many people have opened Expat accounts, thus qualifying for credit card applications. This has led to a significant number of people applying for and being approved for credit cards, then maxing them out and disappearing (Busting Out). Busting Out behavior is often associated with Synthetic Identity Fraud (SIF) because very few people would be foolish enough to use their own identity for such crimes. Synthetic Identity Fraud (SIF) means creating a new identity and using this fabricated identity to establish credit records, apply for cards, and cash out.

To mitigate the impact of such crimes, Expat has required additional documentation for credit card applications for some time now, including notarized identification and address proof. This has caused significant inconvenience for us when applying for Expat credit cards.

For readers in Greater China, here are some options to obtain these proofs:

Taiwan: Government departments in Taiwan can provide notarized passports.
Hong Kong / Macau: Go directly to the HSBC HK Expat Branch or International Banking Department for assistance.
Mainland: Contact the International Banking Department to go to a designated HSBC branch, where you can notarize both your passport and address proof (HSBC CN monthly statement).

However, these options may not be accepted by HSBC Expat because they require the notary to annotate: "I confirm that this is a true and accurate copy of the original document." If the document includes a photo (Photo ID), it must also state, "and that the photograph bears a true likeness to the individual requesting the certification." These requirements have been refused by both Taiwanese government agencies and HSBC China branches, and it is unclear whether the Hong Kong International Banking Department is willing to assist in meeting these requirements.

Online Remote Notarization#

For global readers (excluding sanctioned regions), a cost-effective solution is online notarization. We can find a notary on Fiverr and notarize via video witnessing. After multiple case tests, HSBC Expat accepts these notarized documents, and most notaries on Fiverr are willing to add the annotations required by HSBC Expat.

First, you need to register for a Fiverr account. If you register through this invitation link, you can get 10% OFF (i.e., a discount) on your first order.
Then search for services related to "Notarize," with fees typically ranging from 10 - 20 USD being reasonable.
Contact the seller to see if they can provide notarization for your passport and address proof, and ask if they can add the required annotations to the notarized document.
After placing the order, schedule a video meeting with the seller to complete the notarization. You will need basic English listening and speaking skills, as they will ask some questions, including basic identity information (your name, date of birth, etc.) and routine inquiries (whether you are doing this voluntarily, if anyone is forcing you, etc.) as well as an oath (some sellers may read the oath for you, and you just need to answer Yes, but some may require you to repeat it).
Send the notarized document to expat.asia.pacific@hsbc.com.

Not sure which seller to choose? You can try the seller that the author of this article has collaborated with by simply clicking here. This seller does not charge extra for foreigners, and the entire process is simple and quick, requiring only basic English proficiency. Besides answering your personal information, you mainly just need to respond with Yes and No. If your English listening ability is weak, you can try using Google’s real-time transcription + translation feature during the video meeting.

Except for the Fiverr referral link, the author of this article has no commercial cooperation with any of the above institutions, organizations, or individuals. This information is provided solely for the completeness of the article and the convenience of the readers. This site does not guarantee or assume any liability for the services provided by Fiverr sellers. Registering through the Fiverr referral link will earn this site 10% of the transaction amount of your first order (up to 100 USD). Content on Fiverr may change at any time, and this site does not guarantee the validity of its content.

Application Notes#

The address on your proof of address must match exactly with the one in the HSBC Expat system, with no discrepancies. If there is a mismatch, you need to update your address in the HSBC Expat online banking first.
The Direct Debit account number on the credit card application form can be filled in with Expat's GBP account. The first six digits of the account number provided to you by Expat are the Sort Code, and the last eight digits are the account number. As long as there are sufficient funds in the Expat GBP account, the credit card will automatically deduct payments from it.

Subsequent Use#

UK Credit#

Many people apply for the Expat credit card to establish UK credit. It does sound like a very good plan, as HSBC tends to offer higher initial limits (generally fixed at 5,000 GBP, which may be higher if there are sufficient deposits in Expat), which is beneficial for building credit.

However, if you want HSBC to report information to UK credit bureaus, you must change the "residential address" in HSBC Expat to a UK address. This is a risky operation because HSBC Expat's overall risk control is quite sensitive. There have been cases where changing the address led to being asked to fill out the CRS (self-tax declaration) form again, and some have been required by HSBC risk control to revert to the original address.

In short, use at your own risk.

Repayment#

If you filled in the Direct Debit information on the application form, HSBC will automatically deduct payments from the corresponding account on the due date, as long as there are sufficient funds in the account.

If you want to make a manual repayment, you can do so through Bill Pay in HSBC Expat / UK. For example, in the HSBC UK App, when adding a Payee, select to pay a company:

Simply search for the Payee and enter the first 6 digits of your credit card number (i.e., BIN). For example, my Premier World Elite is 545147, so the payee would be PREM WE 545147.

Then fill in your complete credit card number in the "Reference":

And you will complete the payment.

HSBC UK accounts offer Outbound FPS. FPS stands for Faster Payment Service, which allows almost instant transfers to the recipient's account. When making credit card payments through HSBC UK, you will generally see the funds credited on the second working day (although it is instant, it seems to require manual processing for crediting).

HSBC Expat accounts only support Inbound FPS, so payments can only go through the traditional system, which takes a long time to credit, generally requiring 4 - 5 working days. If possible, it's better to use HSBC UK.

If you want to make payments through other UK financial institutions, the process is similar. Some banks (like Monzo) may not offer Bill Pay functionality, so you won't be able to search for Payees; you will have to find and fill in this information yourself. Note that you also need to fill in your complete credit card number in the Reference.

If you also applied for the Premier World Elite card and have the same BIN as mine, here is the payee information:

PREM WE 545147
Sort Code: 40-11-71
Account Number: 39001212

Register for Online Banking#

HSBC Expat is essentially a special branch of HSBC CI & IoM (Channel Islands and Isle of Man), so its credit cards are also issued by HSBC CI & IoM. HSBC CI & IoM bank accounts are limited to residents of the Channel Islands, but once you have this credit card, you can register for a separate CI & IoM online banking.

After receiving and activating the card, call +44-0345-600-6161 (within the UK) or +44-1470-697-139 (outside the UK) to set up your TSN (Telephone Security Number). The automated voice system will ask you to enter your card number and your birthday in the format of "two-digit date - two-digit month - last two digits of the year." The system will then inform you to set up your TSN and transfer you to a customer service representative. Inform the representative that you want to set up your TSN, and they will ask for your personal information for verification. Note that you only have one chance to answer; if you answer incorrectly or the information does not match the system, you will be required to verify your identity at a physical branch.

If the representative suggests setting up Voice ID, this site recommends that you refuse. For some reason, HSBC UK's Voice ID is difficult to use, often failing to verify correctly, and it cannot be downgraded to TSN. If the Voice ID verification fails, you will only be able to verify your information through customer service.

Once your TSN is set up, you can go to the HSBC CI & IoM official website to register for online banking. Most functions of online banking will not be available (since there is no bank account), but you can view transaction records and other information more quickly.

Important Notes#

Card Delivery: HSBC Expat will send debit cards via DHL, but credit cards refuse to use DHL and only send via normal mail. For most residents in mainland China, receiving normal mail may be quite difficult. So can I change to a UK address to receive the card? The answer is no. There have been cases where changing the address before activating the card led to the cancellation of the credit card, requiring reapplication.
Annual Fee: If you applied for the Premier World Elite card with an annual fee, it will be charged in the first billing cycle, so do not forget to keep sufficient funds in the Direct Debit account or make a manual repayment.
Replacement Card: If you have any actions that will cause a change in your card number, such as a replacement card, you need to call HSBC Expat customer service to request them to update the credit card number record in online banking. The only link between Expat and CI & IoM systems is the card number. If your card number changes, the Expat system will not be notified of this change, and you will not be able to view transaction records and account balances through HSBC Expat online banking or app.
Address Verification: The UK has a credit card address verification service (AVS) similar to that of the US. Most online transactions will require you to provide a postal code for verification. Unfortunately, HSBC CI & IoM has not considered the use of international users like HSBC US. If your address is not in the UK, you will not be able to use AVS. The solution is to contact CI & IoM customer service and request them to add a UK address to your correspondence address. You can use the postal code of this UK address to pass AVS.
Automated Phone System: The CI & IoM customer service system is essentially the same as HSBC UK's customer system. Therefore, if you also have an HSBC UK account, do not use the UK-associated phone number to handle matters related to this credit card. The phone system will recognize your calling number and automatically associate it with your HSBC UK account, while this credit card has no connection to your UK account, and customer service will be unable to process related information, possibly thinking you are a victim of identity theft and requiring you to verify your identity at a physical branch.