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HSBC UAE relief measures & COVID-19 guidance

We understand how concerning the COVID-19 situation is for your business. We encourage all of our corporate customers to contact their Relationship Manager to discuss how HSBC can support you, whether through financing, guidance, or introductions to other businesses.

We have taken a number of actions to ensure you are always connected to your finances and that the services we provide always deliver the best possible customer experience, even in these unprecedented times, as detailed below.

And, we have created a series of exclusive webinars, building on our Navigating Business series, which give insights and guidance on the topics that matter most for our customers

Webinar series

Support measures

In addition, HSBC UAE has announced a series of measures that will both help our corporate customers navigate challenges associated with COVID-19, and contribute to the initiatives announced by the Central Bank of the UAE in support of the nation’s economy.  

To help you and your business operating in a virtual and business continuity mode, we have adopted the following digital banking and trading support measures:

• Waiving of set-up fee for all clients moving to HSBCnet - our online corporate banking platform¹
• One-hour turnaround on the issuance of shipping guarantees, allowing customers to take or receive goods faster and continue trading²
• Providing additional resource to assist customers transferring to its digital platforms to enable flow of trade to continue

For customers of our dedicated Business Banking service, we have made available the following benefits:

• 50% reduction of minimum account balance fee for 3 months³
• Extension of credit terms including loan deferments, interest only repayment terms, subject to HSBC’s review. Please contact your Relationship Manager to discuss further

All our Commercial Banking customers who have been affected by COVID-19 are encouraged to contact their Relationship Manager to discuss available solutions.

Targeted Economic Support Scheme

As part of the Targeted Economic Support Scheme launched by the Central Bank of the UAE (CB UAE) to contain the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, CB UAE has temporarily suspended its processing fees levied on banks on some of their payment systems for a period of six months effective 15 March 2020.  Accordingly, part of your charges pertaining to UAEFTS (PP and ACH), UAEWPS and UAEDDS for the period between 15 March 2020 to 15 September 2020, will be refunded to you every month. This refund will be credited to your account on the 15th (or next working day) of the following month.

Should you have any questions, please do contact your Relationship Manager. 

COVID-19 related impact to cheque products

In accordance with the recent changes announced by the Central Bank of the UAE in response to the COVID-19 situation, please note the below changes to cheque products that will apply with effect from 06 April 2020.

Cheque Outsourcing Service (COS)
COS instructions sent to the Bank for issuance of cheques/cashier orders/demand drafts, on or before 1:00 p.m. on a working day, will be printed and delivered to you via courier within 2 working days.

Digital Cheque Deposit (DCD)
Outward Clearing: IOC files (cheque images) for outward clearing cheques (outside HSBC UAE) received through the ICE Gateway before 6:30 a.m. would be processed the same day.

House Cheques: IOC files for in-house clearing cheques (within HSBC UAE) received through the ICE Gateway before 7:30 a.m. would be processed the same day. You can continue to deposit cheques via the DCD Service even after the above mentioned cut-off times, but the processing date for such cheques will be the next working day.As per the DCD service requirement, please continue to send an email to nsc.uaereceivables@hsbc.com with details of the IOC files uploaded.

Express Banking Service
Cheques collected via the Express Banking Service will be processed within 2 working days. In case of any queries, please reach out to your HSBC representatives.

¹Valid for HSBCnet set up fees until June 2020 (Current fee AED500)
²Provided all documents are received correctly and without referrals
³For business customers eligible for and migrating to Business Banking tariffs: Standard/Vantage/Elevate
https://www.business.hsbc.ae/en-gb/business-banking/business-banking-solutions

Change in Global Trade and Receivables Finance (GTRF) branch counter operating days for specific products

In line with the UAE Government initiatives to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and HSBC's continued effort to ensure the safety of our clients, staff and community in the current environment, from Sunday 5 April 2020 we will accept paper based submissions of the following products/transactions only on Monday and Thursday:

• Guarantee issuance and amendments
• Documentary credit issuance and amendments
• Trade loans

These transactions can all be submitted any time, faster and more cheaply via our online banking platform HSBCnet Internet Trade Services (ITS) and we encourage you to use this channel wherever possible.

All other GTRF requests and documentation can continue to be submitted and collected at the branch from Sunday to Thursday between the hours of 9:00am – 3:00 pm

If you do not have access to HSBCnet ITS or need help with setting up particular transactions, please reach out to your GTRF Business Development Manager directly or the GTRF Client Services team on 800 HSBC TRADE (800 47228 7233) for further information.

Alternatively, you can watch our recent webinar here that gives a full guide to getting started on HSBCnet including ITS.

We have also closed the GTRF counter at our Sharjah branch until further notice. The nearest branch for GTRF transactions is our Bur Dubai which remains open.

Changes to Standard Credit Interest Rates

Please note standard credit interest rates will be revised with effect from 30 March 2020.
Please check the Standard Credit Interest Rates

For our latest branch operating hours updates, please visit here.