UK rule change forces China’s domestic bank card organisation to sign separate new agreements with each of 36 banks in network, reports say 60 per cent now signed
DANNY.LEE@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Saturday, 19 March, 2016, 1:33pm
HSBC is hoping to avoid to a repeat of the fiasco three years ago when many of its customers were unable to access cash overseas after the bank switched to chip-embedded cards with UnionPay as the network provider. Photo: AFP
HSBC is warning customers in Hong Kong that its UnionPay-backed cash and credit cards may not work in the United Kingdom from next month due to regulatory changes there.
To try and ensure the cards remain valid, UnionPay, China’s only domestic bank card organisation, is now racing against time to sign separate agreements with each of its 36 member banks in the UK, as mandated by the amended rules.
Unless the deals are inked by April 1, Hongkongers may find themselves unable to withdraw cash at most of the British cashpoints run by Link, which operates a network of 66,700 ATMs. All 36 banks use the Link network.
HSBC warned its customers this week about the problem and recommended they prepare to withdraw cash from its branches in the UK.
However, a spokesperson for the London-headquartered bank told the South China Morning Post yesterday that UnionPay is believed to have signed new contracts with 60 per cent of the affiliated banks.
Mainland Chinese users of UnionPay who are in the UK may also be affected. Photo: Weibo
HSBC will be keen to avoid a repeat of the problems its customers faced three years ago when the bank switched to chip-embedded cards with UnionPay as the network provider. As UnionPay only worked in a handful of Asian countries at the time, many customers were unable to withdraw cash abroad.
The latest changes come as Britain’s payments regulator ordered a consortium of British banks to sell VocaLink in a bid to boost competition and innovation. The payment systems company processes around 90 per cent of British salaries and handles all UK bank payment transfers.
HSBC said it is working with UnionPay to resolve the matter and has urged the company to sign more agreements before the month is out.
“We take this [change] seriously and we know a lot of our customers travel to the UK on a regular basis and it is important they can withdraw cash as and when they need to,” a HSBC spokesman said.
“It’s in UnionPay’s interests and our interests for coverage to increase as quickly as possible and returned to full coverage.”
Among those affected is British expat Vicky Medcalf, who received notice about the changes from HSBC on Thursday night. She is now trying to obtain a Plus card, as rival to UnionPay run by Visa, but described the process as being “very stressful.”
“I saw a tiny notice on an ATM about the change but it didn’t give enough information, so I tried to find information on HSBC.com.hk and the UnionPay website with no joy. It just said, ‘some ATMs can offer the service;, but didn’t say which ones.”
UnionPay was not immediately available for comment. It was unclear whether mainland Chinese users of UnionPay would also not be able to withdraw money in the UK.
What can HSBC customers do?
- Customers who only have UnionPay-chipped cards can still withdraw cash from HSBC’s network of 2,000 cash machines in the UK. Details here.
- At least 60 per cent of cash machines in the UK should accept UnionPay from April 1, but no details are currently available on which ATM operators have signed to do so. One way to spot whether the card will be accepted is if a UnionPay logo pops up on the cashpoint screen.
- HSBC customers who use UnionPay-chipped cards can apply for a Plus ATM card to gain access to a broader range of cashpoints in the UK. Customers’ new Plus cards would be linked to the HK$ current account of their HSBC integrated account. Details here.
- HSBC customers can also link their bank accounts to their Visa or MasterCard credit cards, enabling them to use these to access ATMs on the Plus/Cirrus network overseas, including in the UK.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1927522/card-declined-unionpay-may-fail-uk-cashpoints-april-1-hsbc
