Micky66

I have just begun working in Malaysia and I'm paid monthly in USD. I set up a HSBC foreign currency account at my local HSBC branch in the UK prior to my departure. However there is no on line/internet banking facility with this account (it's purely in branch or telephone banking and acts as a holding account to ride exchange rate fluctuations).
Would I gain anything by opening a HSBC account in my local HSBC branch in Malaysia in order to gain some internet banking functionality?

Davita

I'm with HSBC (5 accounts) in 3 different continents. The reason is because HSBC is an International bank (except USA) as well as local.
They have a Premier Service (which, in Malaysia, needs an FD of MYR200,000 to qualify) This means all other HSBC accounts worldwide gets the same status and are easily converted once you satisfy one account as Premier.
HSBC then permits to have different currency accounts, within the main account, and internet transfer of funds through their 'global transfer service'....which is instant and free.
The downside risk is you need to keep the qualifying FD in the currency where you wish the premier service to be maintained. If you are averse to this FD being held in MYR's I'm sure that HSBC UK has the procedure in GBP.

i.e. I initially had HSBC Canada as my main bank...then changed to HSBC Malaysia and used my (MM2H) MYR150,000 FD + another MYR50,000 FD. Since then have I've changed the FD to HSBC Jakarta, very flexible!

dmaccoll

I'm with HSBC UK, and you need £50,000 (GBP in case that symbol gets mangled!) in an account there to qualify for Premier. You can still have a Premier account below that threshold, but there's a (monthly IIRC) fee.

The same "pay a fee for Premier" may apply in Malaysia too, and if so it might be less than the UK fee (as is the case with FD; when I set this up MYR 200,000 was less than GBP 50,000, but I still got Premier in both countries).

D.

Davita

Just for clarity I don't see this as a "pay a fee for Premier." It is a fixed deposit (FD) which gains interest.

MYR200,000 is currently around GBP36,000 so much less needs to be deposited in HSBC Malaysia. Also, I think the interest rate on MYR is more than GBP.

If an HSBC UK account, without an FD, is available with a free 'global internet transfer facility' I would suggest looking into that prospect. Then open a Malaysian HSBC Account with a GBP account inside and transfer at will, then exchange when the rate is beneficial.
That is what I do in Jakarta...I keep GBP and CDN$ accounts inside my IDR account and exchange from those currencies to IDR when the rate is to my benefit......as it was today!
btw the FD required for Premier Service in Jakarta is IDR500,000,000.... around GBP25,000, and I currently get 7.5% interest on a 3 month call.

dmaccoll

Ah, sorry - I wasn't very clear. Here in the UK you get Premier for free if your Premier account has over GBP 50,000 in it; if there's less than that then there's a fee to have a Premier account (well, unless you're making something like GBP 100,000 per annum income). The same applied in Malaysia when I was there - you didn't need a separate FD, the balance in your Premier account was enough. While this meant FAR lower (or zero) interest rates, it did mean you had instant access if needed.

I don't know offhand if there are other HSBC accounts that offer the same sorts of benefits as Premier (for me, these were internet banking and near-instant zero-fee international transfers between MY and UK accounts). May well be worth checking in to that though!

D.

Davita

Thanks dmaccoll
You are correct...it isn't necessary to hold the required amount in an FD...it is only required to have that minimum balance in the account. It was my decision to make it an FD to get a better interest rate...I could, when the FD matures every 3 months, place it back into a current/savings account. However, if I draw it down...I'd eventually lose my premium advantage...but I'm sure my relationship manager would give me some leeway to refund back to the minimum required before cancelling.
I've been a Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank client since 1974.