sackofspuds

Can anyone tell me whether, if I open one of HSBC's AUD savings accounts in the UK, how the process works if I want to transfer AUD from it to a GBP account at another UK bank? Will HSBC transfer the AUD into GBP at a decent rate and then transfer the GBP to my GBP account?

vikk

Hi I opened a UK acount with HSBC a few months ago, apparently once the uk acount has been opened for 6 months with your wages going into it they can recommend you to HSBC so you can set up an account over there straight away. They also give you internet access to both so that you can access your other account easily.

There is a phone number which you can ring for an application pack for an account at the commonwealth bank which has many more branches than HSBC which may be easier for you on arrival. I have the number but I don't know where it is now, I'll look for it & give it to you next time i'm on or if anyone else has it could you please post it? I'm not sure about transfer rates but if you make an appointment with your local HSBC they'll be able to give you much better & up to date info. Good Luck!

THIS IS MY OPINION ONLY.

sassie

Hi there. I believe that you can do the transfer yourself on line with HSBC AUD savings account, although I think the maximum amount per day is AUD$5,000 and they charge you about $40 per transaction.

I was looking into this also, as I have a considerable sum I want to bring back to the UK, but have decided to use HIFX instead, here in the UK. As I've used them before to send money out to Australia, I can also use them to bring it back.

gedge

You can you the Aus HSBC Internet service to tfr money to an overseas acccount. It prompts you for:
Country
Name
Acc#
Currency
Amount
Overseas Charges Paid By (receiving party or sending party)
Date

Note: By selecting charges to be paid by "Party sending funds", an additional AUD$30 will be charged.
Total transfer payments are limited to AUD $5,000 per day.

You can find all the charges here:
HSBC Personal Charges

This is not the same as using a company that specialises in Intl Tfrs such as HiFx. The exch rate you get would be the one published by the bank on the day the tfr is actioned I believe.

Wol

I'm confused!

Are you talking about a AUS$ account held by HSBC in the UK? Or in Oz?

Bear in mind that HSBC is a global company, and HSBC UK has nothing to do with HSBC Australia. You MIGHT be lucky getting information from a local branch, but the only people who have much idea about ex-UK banking are the HSBC International folk.

sackofspuds

An AUD account in the UK. The story behind this is that I bought a forward contract with HIFX, changed my mind about going to Oz (at least for the time being) so now need somewhere to deposit the AUD. I have an account in Oz already but that would involve getting my mother, who lives there, to mess about transfering money back or whatever and I imagine the ATO (Aus. Tax Office) might wonder what was going on. Since I'm a UK resident it seems easier all round to keep the funds here in an AUD account for now.

On Monday I applied to open an HSBC AUD savings account here in the UK. The woman at HSBC seemed very suspicious - seemed to think I was money laundering or something. She stared at me intently and asked "are these funds the proceeds of a house sale?". A bit cheeky I thought. Also, "why do you want to open this account?" and "why aren't you opening an account with NatWest?". I'd told her NatWest is where I have my current account and this last question threw me because after all the talk of HSBC's AUD accounts on this forum I'd assumed only they did such accounts.

On the way back to work from HSBC I nipped into NatWest and discovered they do exactly the same kinds of accounts, ie, an AUD current, savings and term deposit account.

So, yesterday I opened an AUD savings account with NatWest. One simple form to complete and absolutely no questions asked. Unless the interest rates on the two accounts differs substantially or HSBC's commercial exchange rates are significantly better, I'll stick with NatWest; transfers to my current account are bound to be easier.

Fortunately, I changed funds @ 2.59 and yesterday NatWest quoted me 2.49 so I stand to make 4%. I therefore need to decide whether to change the AUD back into GBP almost immediately and take the profit. The answer to that depends whether we decide to move to Oz later this year.

Wol

You seem to have it well under control, then.

It is certainly a real pain nowadays - and getting worse by the day - how new rules and regulations are stopping even the most straightforward transactions being easy.

It's getting to the stage where the law abiding are beginning to wonder if it's worth being honest - these rules don't do anything to stop the criminals/terrorists, just make life impossible for the rest of us.