Why would not HSBC let me withdraw greater than £1,000 in money?

I wanted to take out £5,000 in cash from my HSBC bank account. 

HSBC says it has no limit on the amount of cash you can withdraw over the counter.

But it seems HSBC Watford does not allow customers to withdraw any amount they request. 

There is a £1,000 limit if you go into the branch with your passport, and you can’t even arrange a larger withdrawal with notice of any kind.

Why is this the case when HSBC says it has no limit on the amount of cash you can withdraw?

Access denied: This reader says HSBC would not let her take out £5,000 in its Watford branch

Helen Kirrane of This is Money replies: You are right that HSBC does not put a limit on how much cash a customer can withdraw over the counter.

Last month, This is Money asked six high street banks, the Post Office and two digital banks how much cash customers can withdraw over the counter, and what kind of notice they would need to give. 

HSBC was one of the banks which said there was, in theory, no limit to how much a customer could withdraw over the counter in one of its branches.

But though banks say this, how much cash they are able to give someone in practice  depends on a few things.

For a start, banks are limited by how much cash they actually have on hand at the branch. 

If you go into your local branch requesting to withdraw £10,000 and the bank does not have this much cash on hand, it simply won’t be able to fulfil your request.

Some banks need advance notice if you are making a withdrawal of more than £2,000, though HSBC does not strictly need notice for withdrawal . 

I asked HSBC why you had not been able to take out £5,000 at the Watford branch. 

‘Digital service’ branch

It said that said not all branches have a counter where cash can be taken out, and this includes its Watford branch.

HSBC has three types of branches – full service branches, digital service branches and cash service branches. 

HSBC Watford branch is a digital service branch. It can help customers open an account, help with payments and statements, and customers can use cash and cheque machines which are self-service. 

But that won’t be much help if you are trying to withdraw a large sum of cash, as most cash machine withdrawals are limited to about £1,000. 

So where can you go to withdraw your money?  

You may be able to withdraw take out cash from a counter at your local Post Office in Watford, as the Post Office facilitates cash withdrawals. 

Cash withdrawal limits at the Post Office counter are set by your bank and approved by the bank at the time of the transaction. The Post Office does not have control over this. 

Unfortunately, it seems your only other option is to visit another HSBC branch which does have a counter, or to take out the money in several separate transactions.  

A spokesman from HSBC replies: There is no maximum limit for a cash withdrawal over a counter in our UK branches.

We have three branch formats and not all branches have a counter, including our Watford branch.

We would always try to accommodate requests for cash withdrawals to be made at these branches, but withdrawals larger than the customer’s normal daily limit would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

If a customer wants to take out a significant amount of cash they would be advised of their options, including being informed their nearest branches with a counter.