Notices

Dear Customer,

Please note that Lanka Bell will no longer be available as a utility bill merchant on digital banking platforms.

Visit www.hsbc.lk/ways-to-bank/bill-payment/ for details on avalaible bill payment options.

To provide a faster, safer and a more convenient service, the Bank will be proactively converting all customers on paper statements to e-statements from the month of April 2023. Receiving your statement via email is convenient, timely and uses no paper; This will improve your experience and avoid any negative impact due to statements not being received on time.

• Customers who are on paper statements will be informed via SMS with notice of registration to e-statements.
• E-statement will be sent to the e-mail address registered with the Bank. This is a password protected PDF file to ensure data privacy controls.
• Customers have the option to convert back to paper statements by,
• Applying changes on personal internet banking service or sending a secured message
• Visiting the nearest HSBC branch
• Customers who do not raise any concerns will continue to receive e-statements after the e-statement conversion.
• In line with the prevailing Tariff of charges of the Bank, all customers who opt for paper statements will be subject to below charges w.e.f 1 April 2023
  
   For more details on the tariff Click www.hsbc.lk/tariffs/

Dear Customer,

Please note that cash payments to your HSBC credit card account at all Arpico & Abans access points will no longer be possible w.e.f 30th April 2023. You may settle your HSBC Credit Card payment with an instant CEFTS transfer using any online Banking facility with a few clicks. Visit www.hsbc.lk/cardpayments for details of available payment options.

The Financial intelligence unit of the Central bank of Sri Lanka has requested the public to be careful of becoming a victim of various scams by exposing their OTP(one time passwords). In the event you have become a victim of such scams or have information regarding a scam, please inform the financial intelligence unit via 0112 47725/0112 477509 from 8 am to 4:15 pm on working days. Also forward the account number to which the money was deposited/said to be deposited, name of the account holder, relevant bank, mobile phone number from where the information was received and screenshots of the relevant message to the financial intelligence unit number - 0765 200290.

Dear Customer,

Please note that our Galle and Jaffna branches ESPM Cheque deposit machines will not be in operation w.e.f 20th Feb 2023. All Cheque deposits should be made at the Branch counters during the Branch opening hours from 9.00 am to 3.00pm

We appreciate your understanding.

Customer Due Diligence (CDD), commonly known as Know Your Customer (KYC), is a process where customers provide information about themselves and their transactions to the banks or any other financial institution. The laws and regulations of Sri Lanka to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism, require financial institutions to conduct CDD before entering into business relationships with their customers as well as review and update the information periodically to prevent misuse of the financial system by criminals/ terrorist financiers. The minimum information required to be provided by the customers are attached in the below link and support from all customers are solicited.

Click following to learn more in:

• English
• Sinhala
• Tamil

We wish to notify you that according to The Powers of Attorney (Amendment) Act No 28 of 2022 (“Amendment Act”) certified by the Speaker of the Parliament which came into force on 25 October 2022, the following  salient amendments ( as summarized ), amongst such other amendments which are not specifically listed below,  have been made to the laws governing Powers of Attorney to be used in Sri Lanka.

1. If the POA  is executed in Sri Lanka it must  be executed before two witnesses and attested by a notary public.
2. If the POA  is executed outside Sri Lanka , it must be executed before two witnesses and an Ambassador, or a High Commissioner, or a Diplomatic Officer or a Consular Officer within the meaning of the Consular Functions Act, No. 4 of 1981 or a person who is authorized to attest such POA according to the law of that country.
3. All POA executed in the manner in 1 and 2 must be duly registered with the Registrar Generals Department and this is mandatory with immediate effect for all new POAs.
4. POA executed prior to the Effective Date i.e  25 October 2022, which have not been registered must be registered on or before 24 April 2023. Failure to register the POA as above, will make the POA null and void w.e.f  24 April 2023.
5. If the purpose of a POA is granted for  a transactions effecting immovable property i.e mortgage, lease etc, the description of the land , apartment and other details must be mentioned in such POA document.
6. A POA is valid for a period of 5 years from the date of execution unless  a lesser validity period  is specifically mentioned or until it is revoked/cancelled. Accordingly , A POA shall not in any event contain a validity period of more than 5 years.
7. The POA must not contain an irrevocable clause.

Hence, as per the Amendment Act, it is mandatory for all POA  issued in Sri Lanka or outside Sri Lanka for carrying out transactions within Sri Lanka, to adhere to the said new requirements although application of the requirements may vary depending on whether the POA is executed prior to Effective Date i.e 25 October 2022 or whether the POA is executed on or after the Effective Date.

Action required from you if a Power Of Attorney (POA) has been submitted / executed prior to the 25 October 2022 in respect of Banking transactions.

If you have already submitted  a POA  to the Bank, prior to the Effective Date i.e 25 October 2022, for account operations or other Banking transactions, you are statutorily required to ensure that all such POAs executed prior to the said  Effective Date are registered at the Registrar Generals Department on or before the  24 April 2023 (Final Date for Registration) in line with the Amendment act. Accordingly, any such POA which has not been tendered for registration on or before the Final Date for Registration, shall become null and void.

If you have already submitted the HSBC POA template, you will need to re-execute a new POA compliant with the provisions of the Amendment Act and submit the same to the Bank on or before 24 April 2023.

Although the statutorily prescribed Final Date for Registration falls on 24 April 2023 , we  would require you to proactively take steps to tender the existing notarial attested Power of Attorney/s for registration and to ensure that all registered POAs reach us on or before the 30 March 2023.

Action required from you if new Powers of Attorney (POA) have been / are to be executed after the Effective Date 25 October 2022, in respect of Banking transactions

You are also required to ensure that any new POA which are executed after the said Effective Date, are compliant with the provisions of the Amendment Act when submission of same to the Bank.

If you are an impacted customer please do not hesitate to reach out to  your Relationship/Branch Manager or the HSBC Contact Center on the following numbers, should you have any clarifications.

Premier Contact Center: +94 11 447 2272

Advance Contact Center: +94 11 447 2243

Contact Center: +94 11 447 2200

In the event you have already provided the necessary confirmation, please disregard this notice.

Whilst we regret the inconvenience this may have caused, we assure you of our best services to support you at all times.

Thank you for banking with HSBC.

DISCLAIMER 

Please note that the Bank shall not take responsibility or accept liability for any such non -compliance by you of the provisions of the said Amendment Act and /or for any hard holds which may be placed on the accounts by the Bank owing to such non-compliance.

The salient amendments of the said  Amendment Act have  been stipulated and summarized above for your reference and general information purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, or other professional advice. Further the Bank will not be responsible for updating you of any further amendments and /or government directions/circulars etc in connection with the Amendment Act and the requirements stipulated herein may be subject to further assessments by the government/statutory  authorities in which event the Bank shall be compelled to adhere to such updates, assessments  or amendments , in accepting a Power of Attorney submitted for Banking transactions.

The Circular No 2/2022 was issued to enable Sri Lankans employed abroad and who remit foreign exchange to Sri Lanka through the banking system of the country to import a fully electric vehicle. Accordingly, a letter of confirmation will be issued by the bank upon request subject to necessary documentations.

Based on The Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act, No. 45 of 2022 certified by the Speaker on 19 December 2022, the below changes will be effective from 01 January, 2023

A mandatory Advance Income Tax (AIT) of 5% will be charged on interest payments applicable for all deposit holders, except for; 

• Interest paid to Foreign currency accounts ;
• Interest paid to Special Deposit accounts (SDAs) opened and maintained on or after April 8, 2020 ( excluding the subsequently renewed accounts) ;

Other persons or institutes who’s interest is exempted from income tax as per provision of Inland Revenue Act (as amended) shall obtain a confirmation letter from Commissioner General of Inland Revenue (CGIR) and produce to the Bank to claim such exemptions. On behalf of the CGIR, relevant confirmation will be issued by the Commissioner of Customer Supporting and Promotion Unit (2^nd Floor, Inland Revenue Department, Sir Chittampalam A Garnier Mawatha, Colombo 02 -T.P. 0112134250 | e-mail : csp@ird.gov.lk)

Lower rate applicability on non-resident persons

Where any non-resident person believes that as per Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) prevails between government of Sri Lanka and the respective resident state, the applicable AIT rate is below 5%, the client shall obtain a tax clearance certificate from IRD to this effect and provide to the Bank to claim such rates lower than 5%. On behalf of the CGIR, relevant tax clearance certificate will be issued by the Commissioner of the Business Consultation Unit ( 1^nd Floor, Inland Revenue Department, Sir Chittampalam A Garnier Mawatha, Colombo 02-T.P. 0112134204 | e-mail : bc@ird.gov.lk)

Bank will be implementing the said changes to charge AIT with immediate effect from 01 January 2023 in line with the said Amendment Act.

The exception which was previously given for Senior Citizens has not been included in the said Amendment Act. Therefore any interest earned on all existing Senior Citizen deposits will be subject to 5% of AIT with effect from 01 January, 2023

Thank you for banking with HSBC.

Please note that following the Gazette No. 2292/50 dated 12.08.2022, the mandatory requirement to receive service exports to Sri Lanka within 180 days remains unchanged. The above implies that the mandatory residual conversion requirement for Exporters of Services has been discontinued from 12 August 2022. Kindly note that all the service exporters are required to provide the necessary supporting documentation (i.e. Tax Identification Numbers (TIN), Invoice, etc.) for the remittances into their respective accounts, upon receiving the monthly SMS sent by the bank.

CBSL Operating instruction >

Special notes

Inward remittances received in foreign currency and converted to LKR are eligible for a reimbursement of overseas bank charges up to a maximum of two remittances when sending money to Sri Lanka. LKR 1000/- per transaction will be credited by the 15th Calendar day of the following month effective from March 2022.

Sri Lanka residents who have received an overseas remittance will receive a SMS from the bank on the 1st working day of the following month. Please confirm your eligibly by the 5th working day via SMS IWT< SPACE > YES to 4774. If not, SMS IWT <SPACE> NO 4774 or Please contact your Relationship Manager or Branch Manager.