International Bank Account

nicklondon_2

Hi,

I am shortly moving to Hong Kong for work. I will continue to be paid in sterling into a UK account.

I am looking for a bank account that will give me the following;

• Linked accounts one in sterling one in HK dollars
• Ability to transfer money fee free between both accounts at prevailing commercial exchange rate (i.e. not tourist rate)
• A debit card on each of the sterling and HKD accounts so that I don't incur transaction or loading fees when using HKD debit card in Hong Kong
• Ability to use the current account in HK for setting up direct debits etc
• Ideally the ability to be able to open the account here before I go in September, but this is not essential

I have not had very helpful advice from any of the major high street banks, so if anyone has any advice or alternate suggestions re the above, this would be useful. Happy to consider all major banks and private banks.

Key criteria is to keep my banking arrangements as simple as possible but whilst avoiding fees and bank / debit / credit card charges wherever possible, though would be happy to pay a monthly bank account usage fee - as currently banking with Halifax and have Ultimate Reward Current account which carries a fee.

Any help/advice appreciated!
Nick

xylophone

I have not had very helpful advice from any of the major high street banks,

Not even HSBC which would seem the logical choice?

RetiredInThailand

nicklondon wrote: »

Hi,
I am looking for a bank account that will give me the following;...

I don't think you will find all those things at any one bank as they generally charge more on one service when they are generous on another. So the trick is to have two or more accounts with different banks, each giving you the best of something, and use them accordingly.

If I were you I would get a UK MetroBank GBP current account and card that you can use in HK without any exchange weighting, and I would also open an account in HK for local usage. MetroBank interest rates are rubbish though, so you would also want another UK account paying 3+% instant access with no withdrawal conditions.

Then investigate the best way of making transfers from the UK to your HK account. This will probably involve going through a third bank in order to keep costs down.

newfoundglory

HSBC should open you an account here in the UK and in Hong Kong. There is usually a fee to arrange this I believe if you dont have a premier account.

I have HSBC Premier, and relocation is free (premier account costs £25 a month if you don't meet the qualifying criteria). But if you qualify for Premier in one country, you qualify in another.

Alternatively, you might simply be better off opening an account at a local bank when you get there.

Citibank and standard chartered also operate in hong kong afaik

Citi typically offers good rates for instant transfers between accounts, but you might have to pay other fees for your banking.

NorthernCharm

HSBC can open you an account before you arrive in HK, it takes a maximum of 6 weeks to open and is quite a simple process. There are 3 tiers to how much it will cost:

Normal bank account customer - £100
HSBC Advance current account customer - £50
HSBC Premier account holder - Free

The Advance account is the bank's premium current account which is fee-payable, one of the main benefits is the international links (you can use overseas ATMs for free, can wire emergency funds to any branch worldwide if you're stuck without money, half price international account opening).

It is £6 per month for first three months then £12.95 per month thereafter. The only other thing worth mentioning here is if you open HSBC Advance here, you can open HSBC Advance in HK and link the two accounts and transfer funds for £5 between the two.

Hope this helps. Other financial providers do international accounts also but I'm not as familiar with them

catokelly

I dont think there is any bank that would offer the linked GBP/HKD facilities along with the other requirements that you list, the only one I can think of is maybe Citi Bank, but am not sure whether they offer HKD accounts. Dont presume that just because HSBC are also in Hong Kong that they will offer linked accounts or preferential HKD/GBP rates. Also, I dont think there is any bank that will offer non-tourist transfer rates unless its a specifically large transfer.

I would advise you to perhaps have 2 separate unlinked Sterling and HKD accounts, search for the best 2 bank accounts for your needs, but as 2 separate entities. For example, with your HKD account your main concern is a debit card with no fees and being able to set up a direct debit.

However, one particularly important thing to ask the Hong Kong bank is whether they will charge a fee for receiving international payments, as many Hong Kong banks will charge a fee even for receiving a Hong Kong Dollar payment into your account (which will affect you if you ever wish to convert your sterliing to HKD and send it to your HKD account).

Whenever you wish to transfer funds from one to the other, I would recommend you to avoid using your banks transfer services due to the lousy rates and fees. I would recommend you to use a currency broker in order to get the best rates. I usually use Thomas Exchange to both send and receive Hong Kong payments. Once you register with them you can just email or ring them whenever you wish to transfer funds, they have 2 london offices so you can visit them to register, or email [EMAIL="enquiries@thomasexchange.co.uk"]enquiries@thomasexchange.co.uk[/EMAIL] for a Registration Form. Otherwise explore the Citibank route, but I imagine they concentrate more on USD accounts.

gt94sss2

catokelly wrote: »

I dont think there is any bank that would offer the linked GBP/HKD facilities along with the other requirements that you list

As others have said, HSBC offers what nicklondon wants..

The only other thing worth mentioning here is if you open HSBC Advance here, you can open HSBC Advance in HK and link the two accounts and transfer funds for £5 between the two.

If you opt for the HSBC Premier solution than transfers between your own HSBC accounts in different countries are commission free.

You may also be able to open a HSBC Premier account for 6 months without meeting the qualification criteria and later downgrade to HSBC Advance. You could use that time to open your account in HK (avoiding the £50 fee) but that could be more hassle than its worth.

Its probably a good idea to talk to HSBC

Regards
Sunil

catokelly

gt94sss2 wrote: »

If you opt for the HSBC Premier solution than transfers between your own HSBC accounts in different countries are commission free.

Yes the rates may be 'commission free', in reality that means nothing. I know someone who is living in Hong Kong who also fell for this but whenever they transfer between their GBP/HKD account, yes they get the 'commission free' rate, but that is the 'tourist rate' and not the commercial rate, which is what the OP requires!

Most places ranging from the Post Office, high street banks and all bureau de changes use this 'commission' claim, but it's the rate offered that matters.

Lith

nicklondon,

go with -HENG-SENG- Bank.

http://bank.hangseng.com/

gt94sss2

Lith wrote: »

go with -HENG-SENG- Bank.

http://bank.hangseng.com/

Majority owned by HSBC!

Regards
Sunil

RetiredInThailand

Most of the suggestions given (apart from mine) seem to involve some sort of monthly fee, and personally I don't see the point of paying fees when I can get the same thing elsewhere for free in return for a tiny bit of effort.

Also most of the suggestions (apart from mine) don't seem to take account of the extra fees that are concealed in the exchange weighting on transfers/card use.

So I'm wondering if this is because people don't realise how much all this can cost them in total, or is it because they don't care and feel that they are getting something that is worth the extra cost?