Customer Experience

This CoP is issued jointly by HKAB and the DTC Association. It aims to promote good banking practices by setting out the minimum standards that authorized institutions (AIs) (including licensed banks, i.e. HKAB member banks) should comply when making person-to-person telephone calls for marketing activities. Although the CoP is issued on a voluntary basis, all (AIs) are expected to comply with the CoP.

To enhance transparency of the fees and charges relating to credit card transactions in foreign currency (FX Transactions) and Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) offered by overseas merchants allowing settlement of overseas transactions in Hong Kong dollars at point of sale, the Credit Card Committee of HKAB has agreed with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority that card issuers should be encouraged to implement the following measures:

1. Additional disclosure of information of FX Transactions on monthly statements

1.1 Other than the foreign currency amount and the equivalent HKD amount for each FX Transaction, card issuers should also disclose the following on monthly statements:

1. 1. The applicable all-inclusive exchange rate for each FX Transaction, which should include the handling fees by both the card issuer and the relevant credit card scheme operator, by dividing the HKD amount by the foreign currency amount.
   2. A generic disclosure to the effect that the exchange rate applied includes a handling fee equaled X% of the value of the transaction in foreign currency by one of the following methods:

• • • under each FX Transaction;
    • immediately after the end of all transaction entries (which may appear on other pages of the monthly statement where there are many transactions); or
    • on the back of the first page of the monthly statement, or any of the remaining page(s) of the statement with an appropriate cross reference which should appear immediately after the end of all transaction entries.

1.2 Card issuers should endeavour to implement the above by end of June 2015.

 
2. Disclosure of information relating to DCC charge

2.1 For card issuers which impose a charge on transactions in Hong Kong dollars incurred outside Hong Kong, e.g. DCC transactions, they should disclose such charge on their fee schedule and Key Facts Statement (KFS). They should also disclose such charge on monthly statements under each relevant transaction.

2.2 DCC reminder

1. 1. All card issuers should include a reminder in their KFS about the existence of the DCC charge for settling foreign currency transactions in Hong Kong dollars and that customers should ask the merchant at point of sale overseas for detailed information on the exchange rates and fees to be applied in such transactions.
   2. The reminder should be stated in a new item named "Fee relating to Settling Foreign Currency Transaction in Hong Kong Dollars 以港幣支付外幣簽帳的有關費用" to be inserted immediately following the item named "Fees relating to Foreign Currency Transaction".
   3. A sample of the reminder is as follows:
      "Customers may sometimes be offered the option to settle foreign currency transactions in Hong Kong dollars at the point of sale overseas. Such option is a direct arrangement offered by the overseas merchants and not the card issuer. In such cases, customers are reminded to ask the merchants for the foreign currency exchange rates and the percentage of handling fees to be applied before the transactions are entered into since settling foreign currency transactions in Hong Kong dollars may involve a cost higher than the foreign currency transaction handling fee. [For card issuers which charge a markup on these transactions, please also disclose the markup % and any charging details appropriate for your institution's specific circumstances.]"
      
      "客戶在外地消費時，有時候可選擇以港幣支付外幣簽帳。此選項屬海外商戶的直接安排，而非由信用卡發卡機構提供。客戶應於簽帳前向該商戶查詢有關匯率及手續費的詳情，因為以港幣支付外幣簽帳，所涉及的費用可能會較以外幣簽帳的手續費為高。[For card issuers which charge a markup on these transactions, please also disclose the markup % and any charging details appropriate for your institution's specific circumstances.]"
   4. Where appropriate, a card issuer may state in the reminder that the relevant DCC fee is not charged by the card-issuer.
   5. For card issuers which also issue cards in currency other than Hong Kong dollars, they should appropriately amend the DCC reminder to cater for non-Hong Kong dollars credit cards.

2.3 Card issuers should endeavour to have their KFS revised, distributed to new customers and posted on their website by end of October 2014.

2.4 Card issuers should communicate the DCC transaction information to existing customers by one of the following methods:

1. 1. include the DCC reminder as set out in item 2.2 above in the notice of amendments to terms and conditions (T&C) by end of June 2015 or earlier upon revision to major T&C; or
   2. include the DCC reminder as set out in item 2.2 above in the monthly statement for at least 3 months. If no statement is issued to a customer within a three-month period (e.g. no activity and no outstanding balance), a notice should be sent to this customer. This communication should be completed by end of 2014.

3. Training to frontline staff

Card issuers should provide appropriate training to their frontline staff so that they would be able to explain general information on fees and charges relating to FX Transactions and DCC transactions upon receiving enquiries from customers. This should be implemented as soon as possible.

These measures were documented in HKAB's circular "Enhancing Transparency of Credit Card Transactions in Foreign Currency and Dynamic Currency Conversion (S/14/136)" dated 25 July 2014.

HKAB has developed a set of recommended handling procedures for following up mis-transfer of funds reported by customers in consultation with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to enhance customer experience

[Download the recommended procedures]

In designing banking services and products, members are encouraged to give due consideration to these comments, as well as the Treat Customers Fairly Charter and the General Principles in Part I, section 2 of the Code of Banking Practice. 

In particular, it is suggested that the following practices should be taken into account with respect to the provision of e-Statements: 

1. Banks may provide e-Statements to customers where the bank has explicitly notified the customer in advance that e-Statements will be provided and the customer is given the option to receive paper statements instead. At the same time as providing this notice, the bank should advise customers of the fees and charges, if any, if they choose to receive / continue receiving paper statements and the procedures to withdraw their consent for receiving e-Statements. 
2. The Retrieval Period for e-Statements should be sufficiently long to allow reasonable access by customers through e-Banking. Banks should therefore review and further extend the e-Statement Retrieval Period as far as practicable. 
3. When handling requests to close bank accounts, the banks concerned should, as far as practicable, remind the customers that if they receive e-Statements, they may wish to save or print their e-Statements before closing the accounts. 

Members are requested to be guided accordingly. 

These practice were documented in HKAB's circular "Electronic Statements of Account (e-Statements) (S/17/053)" dated 3 March 2017.