Function Overview

This page is designed to give you a brief understanding of the main functions within the Business Internet Banking service. A list fully detailing all the functions can be found in the 'Managing the Service' guide.

Your Accounts

Allows you to view your account balances in a number of different formats which include real-time. You can also view any formal borrowing limit (Agreed Limit) that has been agreed by the bank.

Recent Transactions

For Business Card and Commercial Card accounts, the service lets you see all transactions since the last statement date. You can also view the last 6 months statements.

For sterling accounts, you can view the recent transactions on your account, including transactions made that day. You can also download your transactions into a financial package such as, Microsoft Money®, Quicken® or into a spreadsheet.

Statements

For both Business Current and Savings accounts, the service allows you to view, print and download statements into PDF format. Statements can be viewed for at least 6 years, with the ability to switch paper statements on and off and amend the frequency. You can also view applicable Debit and Credit Interest Rates for your accounts via the Statement function.

Interest and Charges summary can be viewed, printed and downloaded into a software package.

Payments

Business Internet Banking puts you in control by letting you set an overall daily payment limit for the business, up to a maximum of £100,000 a day, which covers all payments made through the Business Internet Banking service. We offer you four different payment options to choose from Bill, CHAPS, International (aka Priority) and BACS Payments.

Bill Payments

With the Bill Payment option you make sterling payments one at a time to a single UK beneficiary in a way that may be familiar to users of our Personal Internet Banking service or Business Telephone Banking service. Bill Payments are normally received by the beneficiary's bank and should be available for drawing within two hours providing that the beneficiary sort code and account number accepts Faster Payments. In all other cases the payment will take a minimum of three working days. You can also send us a forward dated payment up to 45 days in advance.

Payments up to the value of £100,000.00 can be sent using the Faster Payment service (this can be reduced at anytime without prior notice), subject to the appropriate payment limits and available funds in your account or an agreed overdraft covering the payment.

Please note: Payments can be made up to your daily Bill Payment limit to HSBC Credit Cards (including first direct), HSBC Business Card and Commercial Credit Cards using the Faster Payment Service.

The Bill Payment option will help you avoid unplanned overdrafts as available funds are needed on your account before a payment is made. Details of Bill Payments made are available (real-time) from 'Transaction List' within the 'Your Accounts' option.

CHAPS Payments

The CHAPS Payment option is particularly useful to Businesses who need to make urgent single sterling payments where funds need to be received the same day. For example: a Conveyancing Solicitor may use this service to transact funds, from the sale of a property, between the buyer and the seller's bank accounts.

When making a CHAPS payment in Business Internet Banking there needs to be sufficient funds in the debiting account to cover the value of the payment.

International Payments

International Payments, also known as SWIFT or Priority payments, are used for sending funds overseas or currency within the UK. There is a wide variety of currencies that can be sent and exchange rates are updated daily.

Sending international payments can often be a daunting and longwinded process. The International Payment service on BIB has been specifically designed to make this simple and easy. The key to making a priority payment is to ensure that you have all of the essential beneficiary details and enter them accurately in the payment instruction. BIB will ask you for the information it needs to be able to make your payment quickly and efficiently. As a general rule you should always ask the beneficiary to provide you with the following information:

• Beneficiary name
  
• Beneficiary address
  
• Beneficiary Bank Identifier Code (BIC) or routing code
  
• Beneficiary International Bank Account Number (IBAN) or account number
  
• Reason for the payment

Subject to agreed limits and available funds, you can make payments in different currencies to any beneficiary bank in the UK or abroad. Payments are typically received by the beneficiary between 1 - 4 days after debiting your account.

BACS Payments

The BACS payment option is ideally suited to established businesses that make frequent UK sterling payments, especially bulk payments such as salaries. BACS payments can be made in batches of up to twenty five beneficiaries (one debit), so you don't need to make payments one-at-a-time. BACS payments are received by the beneficiary's bank in three working days. You can also send us a forward dated payment up to 45 days in advance.

Pending Payments

If you have sent us any forward dated Bill/BACS payments you can view the details and if necessary, cancel these payments at any time through the Pending Payments option, right up to when we make the payment for you.

Transfers

Transfers are the immediate movement of monies from one of your HSBC bank accounts to another of your HSBC bank accounts provided they both appear on the same Business Internet Banking profile (set of accounts which appear in the same account list). Transfers can be made for any amount up to the available balance on the account the money is coming from. There is no charge.

User Administration

This function will allow you to create, amend or delete a Secondary User (Secondary Users are employees or other individuals who have been allowed to access the business accounts and are set-up by the Primary User).

Standing Orders

This function will allow you to create a new standing order or view, amend and cancel any standing orders already set up on your accounts.

Direct Debits

This function will allow you to view and cancel any direct debits set up on your sterling accounts.

Trade Services

This function will enable you to view your Import or Export accounts and submit requests via BIB. You will be able to:

• Enquire on import and export accounts
• Create and authorise documentary credit applications and amendments
• Create and maintain applicant and beneficiary lists, trade templates and clauses for use in creating new documentary credit applications
• Apply for a full or partial transfer of an export documentary credit
• Enquire on existing trade facilities with the bank
• View pending import bill instructions and manage their acceptance and settlement
• Approve, change or delete pending transactions.

Cheques

Submit a request to cancel a cheque or sequence of cheques, submit an order for a new cheque or paying in book, or request a copy of a presented cheque or credit to aid account reconciliation.

Business Card / Commercial Card

Enables the user to review the company card and individual cardholder limits for a particular card account and submit a request to increase and/or decrease these as necessary. A new cardholder application form is also available for download in PDF format.

Activity History

Review all activity made by individuals allowed access to the business account through the Business Internet Banking service within the last 90 days.