What a Hong Kong Bank Code Is

A bank code, or clearing code, is the number that identifies a bank in Hong Kong's interbank clearing systems. Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited (HKICL), which is owned by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Hong Kong Association of Banks, publishes the list. livi bank's help page says HKICL assigns the codes and that every institution has at least one, even without a physical branch.

In HKICL's list of 24 August 2026, 288 of the 313 codes are three digits. The other 25 are the letter A followed by two digits. Codes can start with 0, and 61 do, so 004 is not 4. Enter all three digits when a form asks.

How to Read the List

HKICL's list has one entry per code and does not divide the codes into categories. We group them by code range so the page is easier to use, and the groups are ours.

• Codes 003 to 399 (201 codes) are the banks most people need, along with some overseas banks and branches of banks.
• Virtual banks (8 codes, 387 to 393 and 395) are the digital banks that appear in HKICL's list.
• Codes 400 to 557 (67 codes) are mostly mainland China banks and overseas branches, judging by the names.
• Codes 802 to 888 (12 codes) are for clearing and settlement bodies, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and clearing settlement institutions.
• Codes A00 to A36 (25 codes) begin with the letter A and are mostly overseas branches of the Bank of China group.

Bank Code, Branch Code and Account Number

A local transfer to an account normally needs the bank code and the account number, and some forms also ask for a branch code. Branch codes are three digits as well. ZA Bank's page gives branch code 747 and PAO Bank's gives 752. Use whatever your bank's form asks for. This page lists bank codes. HKICL publishes the full Clearing Code and Branch Code List, with 3,339 branches, on its site.

FPS and CHATS

Hong Kong has two main ways to move money between banks.

• FPS (Faster Payment System) was introduced in 2018 by the HKMA and is operated by HKICL. HKICL describes it as a 24/7 real-time service for HKD and RMB, where you can enter the recipient's mobile phone number or email address instead of an account number. Limits and fees are set by each bank.
• CHATS is the real-time gross settlement system that banks use for local transfers in HKD, USD, EUR and RMB. Banks may label it "Express Transfer" or "RTGS/CHATS", and it uses the bank code. BOCHK's own guide, for example, gives 012 for local bank transfers through CHATS/RTGS.

Receiving Money from Abroad

A transfer from another country normally uses your bank's SWIFT/BIC code and your account number, not the three-digit bank code. The table of main banks above shows the SWIFT codes that the banks give on their own pages. HSBC's page gives HSBCHKHHHKH for telegraphic transfers, and Standard Chartered's gives SCBLHKHHXXX. Find other banks' codes with our SWIFT code lookup. Hong Kong is not in the IBAN registry, so there is no IBAN to give.

Where This List Comes From

The list is HKICL's Clearing Code and Branch Code List, version 2026/036, as at 24 August 2026. We show each institution's clearing code and name, and change the capital letters of the names to normal capitalisation. The wording is as HKICL prints it. Copyright in the list belongs to HKICL.

Only codes in that list are shown. Other lists online may show codes that HKICL's list no longer contains. In a comparison with one widely used third-party list, 23 of its codes were not in HKICL's current list. The 10 banks in the table of main banks were also checked against the banks' own pages. We last checked on 19 September 2026, and the list changes as banks join, merge or change name.

Frequently Asked Questions