Deposit Protection: Classifying Family Accounts

How the HK$800,000 limit works

Information checked as of 2 October 2026. The Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board states that eligible deposits are protected up to HK$800,000 per depositor per Scheme member. A depositor’s accounts at the same bank are aggregated; opening another account does not increase that person’s limit. Compensation applies when a member bank fails or another statutory trigger occurs. It does not cover every financial loss.

Read joint and individual accounts together

The Board normally treats joint holders as owning equal shares. Each person’s share is considered alongside their other deposits at the same bank. An individual and a limited company are separate legal entities and can each receive protection; a sole proprietorship and its proprietor are treated together. Trust and client accounts follow specific rules, so the account’s displayed name alone is insufficient.

A bank product may fall outside protection

The official scope includes eligible savings, current and time deposits with terms of five years or less, in Hong Kong dollars or other currencies. Structured deposits, offshore deposits, time deposits exceeding five years and non-deposit products are excluded. Funds, bonds and insurance sold by a bank do not become protected deposits because of the sales channel.

G70 view: make the account register verifiable

We believe a family cash register can usefully record the legal owner, bank legal entity, account location, product type and bank’s protection disclosure. Recording available cash separately from eligible protected deposits can make discussions clearer.

Questions for the bank include whether a product is protected, how joint shares combine with individual deposits, and which rules apply to company or trust accounts. This article does not assess any family’s eligibility or recommend account openings or cash allocations.