HSBC Global Money Account launched

Marchitiello

if you have the free Revolut version you can only exchange limited amounts every month without incurring a fee, which will more often then not negate any competitive rate you may have had in the first place.

HSBC instead will exchange exactly what is quoting, without additional fee.

Shanwick

HSBC UK Global Money certainly seems to offer better exchange rates than other HSBC Global Money variants.

e.g. - Two tests carried out at the same time:

HSBC UK Global Money 100 GBP = 120.61 USD
HSBC Expat Global Money 100 GBP = 118.54 USD

Perhaps HSBC UK decided to have better rates due to the more competitive landscape that they operate in?

adindas

Shanwick said:

HSBC UK Global Money certainly seems to offer better exchange rates than other HSBC Global Money variants.

e.g. - Two tests carried out at the same time:

HSBC UK Global Money 100 GBP = 120.61 USD
HSBC Expat Global Money 100 GBP = 118.54 USD

Perhaps HSBC UK decided to have better rates due to the more competitive landscape that they operate in?

From the comparison above, those who do not need to receive a transfer of a foreign currency, than there is no point to have HSBC Currency Account (HCA) as HSBC global exchange rate is better than HCA.

The main problem here is that HSBC Global has not declared how they calculate the exchange rate. This could be problematic as it could be a teasing exchange rate and random. They might change it in a sneaky way in the middle of the game, where at that time people do not have time to compare it.

If you just exchange a few hundred GBP, say £200 but quite often you do not want to do comparison every time you do exchange.

Marchitiello

adindas said:

Shanwick said:

HSBC UK Global Money certainly seems to offer better exchange rates than other HSBC Global Money variants.

e.g. - Two tests carried out at the same time:

HSBC UK Global Money 100 GBP = 120.61 USD
HSBC Expat Global Money 100 GBP = 118.54 USD

Perhaps HSBC UK decided to have better rates due to the more competitive landscape that they operate in?

From the comparison above, those who do not need to receive a transfer of a foreign currency, than there is no point to have HSBC Currency Account (HCA) as HSBC global exchange rate is better than HCA.

The main problem here is that HSBC Global has not declared how they calculate the exchange rate. This could be problematic as it could be a teasing exchange rate and random. They might change it in a sneaky way in the middle of the game, where at that time people do not have time to compare it.

If you just exchange a few hundred GBP, say £200 but quite often you do not want to do comparison every time you do exchange.

I am not sure I follow your argument, as if you are conscious of seeking the best deal, you would always check against other option, and more importantly you would check net exchanged amount, not mid market rate that you cannot actually get (e.g. if you have to pay a fee with Revolut, or using XE own service).

you said that Revolut advertise to be using mid market rate but then at the same time, in checking you state that is “almost the same” as XE, which in turn it would mean it is either not using the same mid market rate or is not using the same updated one, so also not 100% clear, is it? 

it would probably take seconds from the same mobile phone where one is checking the HSBC app to check Revolut, Fineco, XE.con etc.. this is what I have been doing for at least the last 6-7 years and I that is how I realised that Starling introduced a fee to exchange money to their own Euro account and this was giving me a worst option the. Fineco (which advertised a worst exchange rate but was in fact offering better net exchanges amount),

adindas

Marchitiello said:

you said that Revolut advertise to be using mid market rate but then at the same time, in checking you state that is “almost the same” as XE, which in turn it would mean it is either not using the same mid market rate or is not using the same updated one, so also not 100% clear, is it? 

it would probably take seconds from the same mobile phone where one is checking the HSBC app to check Revolut, Fineco, XE.con etc.. this is what I have been doing for at least the last 6-7 years and I that is how I realised that Starling introduced a fee to exchange money to their own Euro account and this was giving me a worst option the. Fineco (which advertised a worst exchange rate but was in fact offering better net exchanges amount),

If you advertise thing using Interbank exchange rate and doing a different thing it will be a suicide doing it otherwise, is it not ??

Interbank exchange rate changing in a matter of second. In the meanwhile, I do not need to watch it in a matter of second as I normally just exchange it around £100, £200 at a time when the GBP is in my favour but quite often. For that reason I said, if you do not need to receive a transfer of a foreign currency, than there is no point to have HSBC Currency Account (HCA).

If you want to do several comparison in a matter of second than there is more lucrative way and more effective way of using our time e.g currency trading.

Same with you I have been using a fee free debit card, credit for over ten years now starting  form Santander Zero, Halifax clarity, etc. But probably we use it in a different way due to a different need. I do not use it for business, it is only for personal use for cash when travelling and to fund my trading account. My trading account at the moment is just one way e.g GBP to USD, I do not need to do the other way around at the moment.

In general I only need to exchange around £10,000 a year one way e.g GBP to foreign currency. In many occasion I just use zero fee card for other non cash transaction.

PragueAddick

For those based or working abroad like me, it seems that at present it remains NOT possible to directly send foreign currency payments to your Global Money account, in that currency, regardless of whether you have selected/partioned that currency in your Global money account.  

This is deeply disappointing, and possibly a misrepresentation (although to be fair I have not had time to look carefully at their marketing blurb to confirm that). 

It affects more customers than might at first be obvious. Examples of  personal customers who might want this facility:

 - Someone who has property abroad and receives rental income on it
- a self employed person who occasionaly does work for customers based abroad
- someone who sells something on eBay to someone abroad.

For information I have a Czech bank account with Raiffeisen which is truly multi-currency, in that both payments out and in are equally possible. So the tech is there, and being outside the eurozone is no barrier. However the margin RB charge  when converting from one currency to another inside my account, is significantly worse than HSBC's GA.

Banks...

Marchitiello

PragueAddick said:

For those based or working abroad like me, it seems that at present it remains NOT possible to directly send foreign currency payments to your Global Money account, in that currency, regardless of whether you have selected/partioned that currency in your Global money account.  

This is deeply disappointing, and possibly a misrepresentation (although to be fair I have not had time to look carefully at their marketing blurb to confirm that). 

It affects more customers than might at first be obvious. Examples of  personal customers who might want this facility:

 - Someone who has property abroad and receives rental income on it
- a self employed person who occasionaly does work for customers based abroad
- someone who sells something on eBay to someone abroad.

For information I have a Czech bank account with Raiffeisen which is truly multi-currency, in that both payments out and in are equally possible. So the tech is there, and being outside the eurozone is no barrier. However the margin RB charge  when converting from one currency to another inside my account, is significantly worse than HSBC's GA.

Banks...

It has been covered earlier in the thread. HSBC was clear that direct currency payment into those currency pots was not YET possible but would come later on (initially launched as a Travel Account to pre load currency before travelling and use one Debit card for all pots once on location).

however, some forum member have shared a workaround:

you can also open an HSBC Currency account to run alongside the a global Money. You can then use the currency account to receive money in the respective currency but NOT to convert the money as the Currency account has not great rates. As it is all within the HSBC systems, you can transfer the currency from the Currency account into the Global Money account, and once there, you can convert at the great rates offered.

[Deleted User]

I have used this account a few times, I also have Revolut. The rate was practically identical. I prefer HSBC.

PragueAddick

Marchitiello said:

PragueAddick said:

For those based or working abroad like me, it seems that at present it remains NOT possible to directly send foreign currency payments to your Global Money account, in that currency, regardless of whether you have selected/partioned that currency in your Global money account.  

This is deeply disappointing, and possibly a misrepresentation (although to be fair I have not had time to look carefully at their marketing blurb to confirm that). 

It affects more customers than might at first be obvious. Examples of  personal customers who might want this facility:

 - Someone who has property abroad and receives rental income on it
- a self employed person who occasionaly does work for customers based abroad
- someone who sells something on eBay to someone abroad.

For information I have a Czech bank account with Raiffeisen which is truly multi-currency, in that both payments out and in are equally possible. So the tech is there, and being outside the eurozone is no barrier. However the margin RB charge  when converting from one currency to another inside my account, is significantly worse than HSBC's GA.

Banks...

It has been covered earlier in the thread. HSBC was clear that direct currency payment into those currency pots was not YET possible but would come later on (initially launched as a Travel Account to pre load currency before travelling and use one Debit card for all pots once on location).

however, some forum member have shared a workaround:

you can also open an HSBC Currency account to run alongside the a global Money. You can then use the currency account to receive money in the respective currency but NOT to convert the money as the Currency account has not great rates. As it is all within the HSBC systems, you can transfer the currency from the Currency account into the Global Money account, and once there, you can convert at the great rates offered.

I read the entire thread before posting. Since the last post before mine was nearly three months ago i thought readers might wish to know that nothing has changed.

As for the Currency Account workaround, it seems pretty silly to have to open yet another account just because the Global Money account is not quite what it seems. It also isn't obvious to me why I'd transfer money from the Currency Account to the Global Money account, as this apparently has to go into the GBP part of the GMA account, at the "HSBC exchange rate" which as I understand it is not as good as that used for the GMA account.

I was really quite impressed when I first learnt of the GMA. I thought it was HSBC finally realising that Wise and the other competitors are eating their lunch. As it stands now I'd still be using Wise to send EUR or CZK inbound to my HSBC account. As you say, in reality the Global Money account is just a travel account.

Marchitiello

PragueAddick said:

Marchitiello said:

PragueAddick said:

For those based or working abroad like me, it seems that at present it remains NOT possible to directly send foreign currency payments to your Global Money account, in that currency, regardless of whether you have selected/partioned that currency in your Global money account.  

This is deeply disappointing, and possibly a misrepresentation (although to be fair I have not had time to look carefully at their marketing blurb to confirm that). 

It affects more customers than might at first be obvious. Examples of  personal customers who might want this facility:

 - Someone who has property abroad and receives rental income on it
- a self employed person who occasionaly does work for customers based abroad
- someone who sells something on eBay to someone abroad.

For information I have a Czech bank account with Raiffeisen which is truly multi-currency, in that both payments out and in are equally possible. So the tech is there, and being outside the eurozone is no barrier. However the margin RB charge  when converting from one currency to another inside my account, is significantly worse than HSBC's GA.

Banks...

It has been covered earlier in the thread. HSBC was clear that direct currency payment into those currency pots was not YET possible but would come later on (initially launched as a Travel Account to pre load currency before travelling and use one Debit card for all pots once on location).

however, some forum member have shared a workaround:

you can also open an HSBC Currency account to run alongside the a global Money. You can then use the currency account to receive money in the respective currency but NOT to convert the money as the Currency account has not great rates. As it is all within the HSBC systems, you can transfer the currency from the Currency account into the Global Money account, and once there, you can convert at the great rates offered.

I read the entire thread before posting. Since the last post before mine was nearly three months ago i thought readers might wish to know that nothing has changed.

As for the Currency Account workaround, it seems pretty silly to have to open yet another account just because the Global Money account is not quite what it seems. It also isn't obvious to me why I'd transfer money from the Currency Account to the Global Money account, as this apparently has to go into the GBP part of the GMA account, at the "HSBC exchange rate" which as I understand it is not as good as that used for the GMA account.

I was really quite impressed when I first learnt of the GMA. I thought it was HSBC finally realising that Wise and the other competitors are eating their lunch. As it stands now I'd still be using Wise to send EUR or CZK inbound to my HSBC account. As you say, in reality the Global Money account is just a travel account.

I do not think you should be faulting HSBC for your own understanding of the account main features, which were obviously targeted at travellers for day one. You also says that it is possible to run a multi currency account as the one you with Raiffesen, albeit at high exchange Margin… well HSBC has had an equivalent for years, it is called the Currency Account.

Finally (about what it is not obvious to you), you can do EUR to EUR pots transfer (or equivalent same currency to same currency)  between the Currency account and Global Money account without having to convert to GBP first (that would be pointless to suggest). The conversion should happen (if you need to) within the Global Money pots once is there. This is possible as it shares the “internal transfer” functionality of the HSBC online/app banking. This workflow has been shared within this thread and other thread talking about receiving money in EUR or USD.