Glossary – Singapore – Retail Banking and Wealth Management

The Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) is a response by national governments to combat tax evasion more widely and effectively. It refers to the process of tax authorities in CRS-participating countries automatically exchanging data on tax residency with other participating countries.

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is a worldwide information-gathering and reporting requirement for financial institutions, to help fight against tax evasion and protect the integrity of tax systems.

Under the CRS, we are required to determine where you are "tax resident" (this will usually be where you are liable to pay income or corporate taxes) and give national tax authorities information on those customers that are tax resident/paying taxes outside the country where they bank. They may then share this information with the tax authority of the country (or countries) where you are tax resident.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is the name of the legislation introduced by the United States government, to help counter US tax evasion by encouraging better reporting of information. More information on FATCA is available on the FATCA page of this site.

A customer that holds a personal account or product with HSBC. 

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a group of 34 member countries plus the European Commission and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa as permanent guests.

A completed self-certification form may be used to confirm your tax residency status under the CRS. Our retail customers are expected to complete the HSBC CRS Self-Certification Form for use by Individuals (CRS-I)(83KB, PDF).

Your tax residency is the country where you are resident/registered for tax purposes. Each country has its own rules for defining tax residence. For more information on tax residence, please consult your tax adviser or the tax residency pages of the OECD CRS portal.

A Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is a unique combination of letters and/or numbers assigned to you/your entity. Some countries do not issue a TIN, but may rely on other issued numbers such as social security/insurance numbers or company registration numbers for entities. You may need to provide these if requested. The OECD has published a list of the acceptable Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) formats and their alternatives.