We understand that if you’re a customer trading internationally, you may want to see the currency conversion rate offered for your payments and transfers. We’re letting you know how we decide the rate you get, and the related information we give.
In some markets, we may give more information about foreign exchange rates applied to transactions for our banking customers. This additional information may include the mid-market rate, and the timestamp associated with a currency conversion, and may be given online at the time of authorising a payment transaction, or in your statements or transaction advices. Mid-market and timestamp information isn’t currently available across all HSBC platforms and in all markets.
What exchange rate will I get?
We use the HSBC exchange rate to change payments to and from currencies that differ to your account currency. The rate is based on the exchange rate market for each currency we offer, so it changes in line with market conditions.
What is the mid-market rate?
The mid-market rate shows the midpoint between the prevailing rates at which HSBC could buy or sell one currency against another in the interbank market. It’s based on the exchange rate market for each currency we offer, so it changes in line with market conditions. We give this rate for information purposes only, as it doesn’t include the costs and charges we incur when conducting the currency conversion and our commercial return on the risk we assume under the transaction.
How does the mid-market rate help me?
We give the mid-market rate information to help you see the rate at which the currency conversions for your payments and transfers are offered. You can do this by comparing the mid-market rate to the HSBC exchange rate, which includes:
- The costs and charges we incur when conducting the currency conversion.
- Our commercial return on the risk we assume under the transaction.
Why am I not offered the mid-market rate?
The mid-market rate doesn’t include our costs. The HSBC exchange rate includes our risk appetite, the costs and charges we incur when conducting the transaction, and our commercial return on the risk we assume under the transaction.
How does the FX conversion timestamp help me?
The timestamp gives the exact day and time at which we performed the FX rate conversion. As rates change throughout the day in line with market conditions, the timestamp can help you compare the HSBC FX rate with rates from other sources.
We’re here to help
If you have any questions, please speak with your HSBC Client Service representative about our foreign exchange rates.