Bank travel charges ad criticised

An exchange rate adjustment was added to withdrawals abroad

An HSBC commercial has been criticised for misleading customers over charges for withdrawing cash abroad.

The television advert claimed people with HSBC's Bank Account Plus would not be charged at foreign cash points.

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled a 2.75% exchange rate adjustment for card processing and handling costs was "essentially a transaction fee".

HSBC said it was cheaper for customers to withdraw cash abroad than to buy foreign currency in its UK branches.

'Misleading ad'

The advertising watchdog said the commercial breached advertising rules and ordered the bank not to repeat it without changes.

The ASA said: "Because there was no mention of the exchange rate fee in the on-screen text, and because we understood that cash machine withdrawals from overseas ATMs always incurred this charge, we concluded that the ad was misleading."

The advert told viewers: "Whoever's on the banknotes, with Bank Account Plus you can withdraw them worldwide and we won't charge you."

Banking rival Nationwide complained about the commercial, saying that the 2.75% charge meant HSBC customers did have to pay.

HSBC said exchange rates were applied to all foreign exchange transactions.

The adjustment covered handling costs and card processing fees, the bank told the ASA.

Customers would find it cheaper to withdraw money from overseas cash points than buy foreign currency in one of its UK branches, HSBC added.