Complete Guide: How to Correctly Fill Recipient Address When Remitting to Hong Kong

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Answering the question “How to fill the recipient address when remitting to a Hong Kong account” is actually very simple. You must fill it in English and strictly follow the order “Flat/Room → Floor → Building Name → Street Number → District → Hong Kong”. Ensuring the address exactly matches what the recipient has registered with the bank is the key to avoiding delays or failed transfers.

As remittance volume to Hong Kong continues to rise year after year, filling information accurately has become especially important.

Market Insight The total remittance market transaction volume is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 4.25% from 2025 to 2030, with the number of users expected to reach 2.89 million by 2030.

Key Takeaways

• When remitting to Hong Kong, the recipient address must be filled in English.
• Address order is: Flat/Room → Floor → Building Name → Street Number → District → Hong Kong.
• Recipient name and address must exactly match the bank’s registered records.
• Hong Kong has no postal code — leave blank if optional, or enter “0000” if required.
• Before remitting, always double-confirm all details with the recipient to ensure accuracy.

How to Fill Address When Remitting to a Hong Kong Account?

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When preparing a remittance, you usually encounter two address fields that need to be filled. Correctly understanding and completing them is the first step to a successful transfer. Many remittance platforms, such as Biyapay, rely on this accurate information to process your funds.

Distinguish Between Recipient Address and Bank Address

You must clearly distinguish between the recipient address and the bank address — both are critical.

• Recipient Address: This is the residential address the recipient has registered with the bank, or the company’s registered address. The bank uses this address to verify the recipient’s identity.
• Bank Address: This is the address of the branch where the recipient’s account is held. It helps intermediary and receiving banks route funds to the exact branch.

Key Information Verification Checklist One of the main reasons international remittances fail is incorrect information. To ensure smooth arrival, always confirm the following with the recipient:

• Full recipient name and address
• Receiving bank name, address, and SWIFT/BIC code
• Complete recipient account number

Accurately filling these items is the foundation for solving “How to fill recipient address when wiring to a Hong Kong account”.

Recipient Name and Account Number Filling Rules

The recipient name and account number are the final credentials for crediting funds — any small error can cause the transfer to fail or be returned.

First, the recipient name must use the exact English or Pinyin name registered with the Hong Kong bank. Even a tiny spelling mistake can prevent the banking system from recognizing the account. Hong Kong bank account names usually follow the “Surname first, Given name last” rule.

You can refer to the table below for filling:

Second, the account number must be entered completely. Hong Kong local bank accounts are usually 9 to 12 digits, sometimes including a 3-digit branch code. Do not omit any digit when filling. Following these name and account rules gives you the core technique for “How to fill recipient address when wiring to a Hong Kong account”.

Hong Kong Recipient Address: Standard Format

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Mastering the standard English format for Hong Kong addresses is another key to ensuring funds reach the recipient accurately. Hong Kong addresses have a clear structure and follow the order from small to large, specific to general. Whether personal or corporate, you must follow this logic.

Personal Address Format

When remitting to an individual in Hong Kong, you need the residential address they registered with the bank. This address has a very strict filling order.

Standard Template The correct format should follow this structure:
Flat/Room, Floor, Building, Number Street, District, Hong Kong

Address Breakdown Example Let’s use a concrete address to break down its components and help you understand better: Flat C, 15/F, Evergreen Tower, 888 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Practical Tip: How to Fill Village House Addresses? If the recipient lives in a New Territories village house without a building name, use the village name and house number instead. The format is usually:

• House No. [Number], [Village Name], [District], New Territories, Hong Kong
• Example: House No. 123, Sheung Shui Village, Sheung Shui, New Territories, Hong Kong

To give you a clearer view of address formats across different districts, here are some real-world examples:

Corporate Address Format

When remitting to a company account, fill in the company’s registered address with the government or bank. The format is similar to personal addresses but usually uses “Unit” or “Suite” for office space.

Standard Template The general corporate address template is:
Unit/Suite, Floor, Building/Centre, Number Street, District, Hong Kong

Address Breakdown Example Using a company address in a core business district as an example: Suite 1208, 12/F, One Commercial Centre, 100 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

Important Note: Virtual Office vs Physical Address According to Hong Kong’s Companies Ordinance, all companies registered in Hong Kong must have a real physical registered address for receiving legal documents. This means you cannot use a P.O. Box as the recipient address. Even if the counterparty uses a virtual office service, that address must be a genuine physical location.

For example, a company address in Hong Kong’s landmark building can be written as:

• International Commerce Centre (ICC): Unit 8888, 88/F, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, West Kowloon, Hong Kong

Accurately filling these standard formats is the core to completely solving “How to fill recipient address when wiring to a Hong Kong account”.

Three Core Principles for Filling Addresses

After following the standard format, you must also remember three core principles. These three principles help you avoid common remittance pitfalls and ensure your funds reach the recipient safely and quickly.

Principle 1: Must Use English

All remittance information, especially addresses, must be filled using English characters. This is a universal requirement of the international financial system.

Global banking systems rely on standardized Latin character sets for identification and verification during cross-border payments. Using Chinese or other non-Latin characters may cause:

• System Inability to Recognize: Many traditional wire systems (such as Fedwire) cannot process non-English characters, potentially causing data corruption or truncation during transmission.
• Trigger Compliance Review: To comply with anti-money laundering (AML) rules, banks need to accurately screen transaction data. Non-standard characters increase difficulty for the system and may flag your transfer as suspicious, leading to delays or holds.

Technology Frontier Although new payment standards (such as ISO 20022) have begun supporting broader character sets, full global adoption still takes time. Therefore, using English is currently the safest choice for maximum compatibility and smooth transactions.

Principle 2: Must Match Bank Records Exactly

The recipient address you fill must exactly match what the recipient registered with the bank when opening the account. Even a single letter or number difference can cause verification failure.

The bank’s automated verification system compares the address you submit with its database records. If they don’t match, the system flags it as “information mismatch” and refuses to process the transfer. Therefore, before remitting, you must confirm the exact registered address with the recipient.

If the recipient’s address has changed, they need to update the bank records first. Usually, Hong Kong bank account holders can update their address through:

• Online or Mobile Banking: Log in to their account, find the address update option under “Personal Information” or “Settings”, and follow the prompts.
• In-Person: Download and fill out an address change form, then submit it at a branch or via drop box.

Principle 3: Hong Kong Has No Postal Code

This is a very important and often confusing point: Hong Kong has no postal code.

Since its establishment in 1841, Hongkong Post has relied on its highly efficient manual and automated address sorting system. Due to Hong Kong’s compact geography and high population density, a detailed English address alone achieves over 99% local delivery success rate, making a postal code system unnecessary.

However, many international remittance platforms or online forms mandatorily require a postal code. When you encounter this while solving “How to fill recipient address when wiring to a Hong Kong account”, refer to the table below:

These “virtual” codes do not affect the transfer because the processing banking system knows Hong Kong has no postal code — they ignore this field and rely on the detailed address you provided.

You have now mastered the key points for remitting to Hong Kong. Before every operation, always confirm the following core information:

1. Distinguish Addresses: Correctly fill both recipient address and bank address.
2. Standard Format: Strictly follow the standard English address order.
3. Information Consistency: Ensure name and address exactly match bank records.

Most Important Step: Before final confirmation of the transfer, communicate directly with the recipient through secure channels and carefully verify every payment detail. This is the best practice to guarantee your funds arrive safely and quickly.

FAQ

What if the recipient address is too long and cannot be fully entered on the remittance platform?

You can use internationally accepted English abbreviations. For example, abbreviate Street to St., Building to Bldg.. Before abbreviating, confirm with the recipient to ensure core information remains complete and recognizable by the bank.

Can I use a P.O. Box as the recipient address?

No. All cross-border remittances require a real physical address for bank identity verification and regulatory compliance. P.O. Box addresses will be rejected by the system, causing transfer failure. You must obtain the physical address registered with the bank.

Do I need to fill in the bank’s SWIFT code in addition to the address?

Yes, it is mandatory. The SWIFT/BIC code is the receiving bank’s unique identifier in the global financial networks. It ensures funds are accurately routed to the correct bank. Without this code, your transfer cannot proceed.

What happens if the name or address is filled incorrectly?

The bank’s automated verification system will detect a mismatch. This very likely causes the transfer to be held for extended review or directly rejected and returned. Note that even if the transfer fails, the handling fee you paid may not be refunded.