How much can you withdraw from an HSBC current account in one go?

[Danger_Mouse]

I was just wondering if anyone knows for sure how much money you could withdraw in cash from a standard bank account? Let's say, for example, you had £50,000 in there; could you withdraw the whole lot in one go over the counter? While I don't have £50,000 in my bank account (or £500, or even £50 until I get paid!) I may be able to win a pint of beer from my boss if I get it right (basically, he says that you can -- apparently, a friend of his did just that, and he was an HSBC customer; I, on the other hand, think that he's got sums wrong!)

[andydd]

I suspect the answer is yes..but with a BUT, you may have to ask first and provide lots of good ID. Why do you doubt it, after all its your money.

 

Andy

[Danger_Mouse]

Good question! Well... mainly because I wouldn't have thought that a bank would hold that amount of 'spare' cash at a local branch -- and, because obliging with such a request would likely cost the bank time and money (in other words, in would be a real pain in the neck), there is likely to be something written down somewhere in their rules and regulations that limits how much cash you can withdraw.This is how the discussion started, actually. We were chatting about how much easier it is to withdraw larger sums of money in Euros when abroad (due to Euro notes being distributed in significantly larger denominations than the British pound) and it kind of went on from there... Also, there's the whole security thing from the bank's point of view... handing over such a large sum of money over the counter is relatively uncommon, and hence relatively very risky -- I suspect it's much higher risk than dealing with 'electronic' money, whereby large sums being transferred from account to account, or bank to bank, are common place. I can see how notifying the bank in advance may work though -- they could confirm ID beforehand, I suppose?

[BazzaS]

If it is a cash "holding branch" they'd have well in excess of 50k on hand.

 

It is rumoured that the cash holding branches that load the 'cassettes' that go into cash machines load 20k per cassette of £20 notes ......

 

Whether they would let you know it was a cash holding branch is a different issue : I expect they'd not reveal such and for all branches they'd say "sums of that value only by prior arrangement" even if they made you wait a day or so, even if that and more was already sat in their vault.

[noddy997]

I am sure that most banks require you to put in a request for large sums to be withdrawn generally over £10/20,000.

 

Maybe lower for branches in rural locations.

[rdm2006]

If it is a cash "holding branch" they'd have well in excess of 50k on hand.

 

It is rumoured that the cash holding branches that load the 'cassettes' that go into cash machines load 20k per cassette of £20 notes ......

 

Whether they would let you know it was a cash holding branch is a different issue : I expect they'd not reveal such and for all branches they'd say "sums of that value only by prior arrangement" even if they made you wait a day or so, even if that and more was already sat in their vault.

 

 

And if every one else wanted 50k how long would that cash last. I suspect not long at all. it would make more sense to have a limit for this with a process of giving notice for amounts over this limit

[Old Cogger]

We did this once, it was a friends, he had to wait as they did not have the funds at the Branch, 45 minutes later they had the money, it came from other Banks nearby, the skins around the notes had the Bank name on them.