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Dear customers,
We continually develop our banking IT system with the aim of providing you with a better customer service and more efficient system performance. Over the weekend of 25-26 October 2014 we will be upgrading and integrating our banking IT system with Bank of China’s head office in Beijing, China. We believe this will improve your banking experience with us.
This change will take three days to complete and therefore all our branches will have to be closed over this period – from 9am on 24 October to 9am on 27 October 2014. Unfortunately, this means that during this period, we will not be able to provide any counter services to you, you may have no access to the internet banking service, your debit card services and Hong Kong Stock Express services may be severely disrupted. Please withdraw any cash you may need before this closure time and/or make arrangements with your other service providers for your debit card needs. Our branches and IT systems will be back to normal from 9am on 27 October 2014.
Please be aware that with effect from 27 October 2014 we will be making the following changes to our products and services:
Current accounts. We are introducing longer account numbers for your current account and for margin account (if applicable), but your existing numbers on cheques, standing orders and direct debits will continue to apply.
Notice accounts. Existing 7 days and 30 days notice accounts will all be replaced by Instant Access Savings accounts. This will have the benefit that no notice needs to be given before withdrawing money, making a remittance or carrying out a foreign exchange transfer. Passbooks will no longer be necessary and all transactions will be shown on bank statements or via internet banking. Instant Access Savings accounts will be available in four currencies (GBP, USD, EUR and HKD) with the availability to carry out cross-currency transfers between Instant Access Savings accounts and a normal Current account. There will be no foreign currency charge or handling fee. The rate of interest you currently receive on any savings account will not be changed. New Instant Access Savings accounts will also have new longer account numbers. We will convert your existing notice accounts into Instant Access Savings accounts and allocate new account numbers to all your savings accounts with us.
Fixed Time Deposit accounts. Existing Fixed Time Deposit accounts will all be replaced by All-in-One Fixed Term Deposit accounts. These will be available in six currencies with flexible maturities up to twelve months. The rate of interest you currently receive on any Fixed Time Deposit account will not be changed. All-in-One Fixed Term Deposits will also have longer account numbers, but your existing numbers will continue to apply until the next rollover date.
Bank statements. Customers who receive bank statements will expect to see changes to their October bank statements. They will be issued two bank statements: one statement, in the current format, which will cover the period until 26 October 2014 inclusive, and another statement, in a new format, covering the period from 27 October 2014 up to and inclusive a statement closing date (e.g. 31 October 2014 in respect of monthly statements, or a later date, in respect of other types of statements). All new bank statements issued after 27 October 2014 will contain new account numbers of your bank accounts.
New All-in-One Instant Access Account for Wealth Management customers
Please be aware that we are introducing a new All-in-One Instant Access Account for the benefit of our Wealth Management customers only. We believe that this new product will have key features which will assist Wealth Management customers in managing their banking needs in a global marketplace.
Key features of the new All-in-One Instant Access Account
- Can be used for deposit, withdrawal, remittance and exchange
- Will be available in eleven currencies
- Instant transferability between currency accounts
- No foreign currency exchange charge or handling fee
- All transactions can be completed via counter service, online and telephone banking
- No cheque books or passbooks and no debit cards
Please find enclosed updated Terms and Conditions (personal accounts), a brief summary of the changes to these Terms and Conditions, and a revised Tariff of Banking Charges (personal accounts). The updated Terms and Conditions (personal accounts) and the Tariff of Banking Charges (personal accounts) will be effective from 27 October 2014.
Please be aware that our banking IT system upgrade and system integration with Bank of China’s head office will require a transfer of our customers’ (and if applicable, also their representatives’) personal information to China. Such transfer of personal information will be made in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998, and we will continue to protect your personal data, and act as data controller.
We hope you will not notice any significant change in our relationship with you. If you are not happy with these changes or the changes to the Terms and Conditions (personal accounts) and/or the Tariff of Banking Charges (personal accounts), you have the option to close your accounts with the bank. Otherwise, if you have any questions, please call our customer service line, 0845 519 5566 from UK (+44 20 7282 8926 from overseas), refer to our ‘Frequently asked questions’ on our website or speak to our counter staff who will be happy to help. You will be able to find further details about the system upgrade on our website http://www.bankofchina.com/uk/ that we will be updating from time to time.
Yours sincerely
Bank of China (UK) Limited
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