You can notify HSBC of the death after obtaining the Death Certificate of the deceased. All you need to do is to visit one of our HSBC branches with the original or certified copy of Death Certificate of the deceased. For someone who died in Hong Kong, other than Death Certificate, we also accept Certificate of Order Authorizing Burial of Body or Certificate of Order Authorizing Cremation of Body as the proof of death.
As soon as we are informed of a death, we will pass the information to the retail banking division of HSBC Hong Kong and let you know if you need to do anything else regarding specific accounts. However, you will also need to inform the non-banking arms and the other divisions of HSBC Hong Kong, if applicable, and some examples can be found in the useful contact. Furthermore, in the case of pensioners - The Treasury, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), should be informed too and its contact details can be found in useful contact.
If the deceased had any accounts that are opened under his own name (ie sole-name accounts), these will be frozen, with the exception of a Home Mortgage Loan with a loan repayment schedule running beyond the date of death. This means:
- No money can be taken out of the accounts. However, any deposit interests and dividends would continue to be paid into the deceased’s accounts.
- Credit card transactions would not be approved.
- Any Standing Instructions & Autopay – including utility bills, mortgage or loan payments will be cancelled. Please note that alternative arrangements may need to be made to continue paying these bills.
There can also be banking accounts which the deceased opened jointly with other parties. We would remove the name of the deceased from the account, making it an account to be held under the name of the surviving account holder(s).
For other HSBC accounts, products or services, you can read on for more details on Step 5.
After you have told us that a person has passed away, we will not issue any further account statements or advices to the deceased. It is possible that for a short time after you have told us that a person has passed away, they may still be sent mail from us and we apologise for this. This is because the mail was prepared and printed in advance. However, we will avoid this where possible.
To avoid any possible inconvenience when handling the deceased’s assets, it is important that you obtain full details of the accounts the deceased maintained with the Bank, especially the account number of all accounts held and their respective account balances as at the date of death. If you do not already have an accurate picture of the deceased’s estate, or are not even sure if the deceased maintained a relationship with HSBC, you are welcome to come in person to one of our HSBC branches to make an enquiry.
When you visit our branches, please bring along the following documents:
- Original or certified copy of Death Certificate of the deceased
- Original identification documents of the deceased
- Original identification documents of the person making the account balance enquiry
- Original proof of relationship between the person making the account balance enquiry and the deceased eg marriage certificate for spouse, birth certificate for parents/children
- Original Will of the deceased, if any
We would then complete a request form for the enquiry of outstanding balance of the deceased’s accounts for you during your branch visit. The account number and balances for each account would be retrieved from our records, as at the date of death, and sent to you by mail normally within 15 business days. You will need this information when applying for Probate in Step 4 below.
Please note that there may be subsequent changes to the account balance. If you need further advice on the implication on application of the Confirmation Notice/Hong Kong Grant of Representation in relation to the account, please consult your lawyer and seek independent advice.
We understand the circumstances that you are in and would not charge a fee for this purpose.
This is step 2 of 5 outlined on the overview page.
Bereavement Guide - you may save or print the electronic copy for reference.