JamesM

Hi Folks,

Been a while since I ran a thread.

In short I'd like to try and consolidate my banking.

In the UK I banked with Barclays for no reason other than my parents used them. When I moved to Canada Scotia were supposed to be the official partner of Barclays despite it never really giving me any benefit what so ever.

Anyway my question is could I have an account with HSBC that enables me to see everything and also offer some sort of service to move money in between?

Others have mentioned HSBC on here before so I wanted to get an idea of their capabilities before I sit down for their hard sell.

Thanks and Happy New Year To You All!

JamesM

HGerchikov

We have an HSBC account in the UK recently set up via International Services. When I log in to my online banking I can see all of my accounts both in Canada and the UK on the same screen, I can easily transfer money between with no charge (although at the mercy of exchange rates, we have a GBP account in Canada as well as our UK account and transfer between those is instantaneous and free, as no currency exchange required). If I need to deposit or pay anything from the UK account I either need to log in to HSBC UK or use the UK version of the app.

JamesM

Thanks. I’m sitting down with them Thursday.

it looks like transferring RRSP and TSA between institutions is a real pain so I’ll see how it goes. Would love to ditch Scotia completely.

Mordko

HSBC offers several categories of accounts. Premier offers international services but the other categories of accounts may not. Its not particularly onerous to qualify for Premier.

If you are moving RRSPs and TFSAs to HSBC then you will need to open HSBC InvestDirect account. This will help you to qualify for a Premier account. You don’t have to do this though. There are some advantages to having current and investment accounts with the same institution but they are relatively minor. Moving RRSPs isn’t particularly difficult. Takes a few weeks but you can usually transfer assets “in kind” so you would be staying invested during the transfer.

CAN_do_attitude

Hi James,
I was attracted to HSBC before I moved to NB. I was with Barclays and thought HSBC would be better as they have branches here too and that nifty-sounding cross-country thing. So I moved to HSBC UK before I emigrated.
I wish I hadn't.
1) Although HSBC does have branches here, they are not closely coupled at all to HSBC UK. The internal communication between them was broken.
2) The feature of being able to see both your UK account and Canadian account isn't of much value. You can just log on to both accounts anyhow.
3) Although it is easier to move money, the exchange rates HSBC use are punitive. You are MUCH better off using an independent agency like Transferwise. I saved thousands of pounds.
4) Where I live, HSBC is a noticeably worse bank to use than RBC. HSBC had no immigrant mortgage scheme, for example.

If I did it again, I would keep Barclays (even though they are rubbish), open an RBC account and use Transferwise for moving money.
Good luck

Mordko

We got a mortgage with HSBC Canada when we came from Britain. Wasn’t an “immigrant mortgage” but it was a good rate at the time. Now we just have an unsecured line of credit, which works as an overdraft protection.

Certainly wouldn’t use them to exchange GBP but having a UK account with the same bank is useful.

The service varies depending on branch; our current branch is excellent. The only downside vs the Big Five is that HSBC few branches.

DigitalGhost

So possibly a slightly stupid question but if I opened one of those international HSBC accounts from the UK then could I have a Canadian salary paid into it and use it for my daily banking needs in Canada?

Mordko

Its not really an “international” account. Its just an account in a given country (or accounts in several countries) which you can open from abroad. It gives you everything any local client gets. Living in Canada, we have British credit/bank cards via the UK account. So, if you have Canadian earnings and an HSBC account in Canada then you can have your salary paid into it regardless of where you were when you opened it. And you can receive your British incomes/pensions in the British account while living in Canada.

DigitalGhost

Thanks. Tbh I'd probably leave my UK accounts as they are but then just use this as a Canadian account plus a way to more easily transfer money between both countries.

Mordko

Something like Transferwise or Skrill works better if you need to convert GBP to CAD or CAD to GBP. You pay in country X in one currency and receive the money in your account in country B in the other country.

DigitalGhost

​​​​​​Thanks. Tbh I don't think I'd need a lot. I have no house to sell in the UK and I wouldn't be planning on buying property in Canada anyway, or at least not in the foreseeable future.

I would be staying in an Airbnb condo for a few months to be begin with so really it's just a case of covering my subsistence costs until my first Canadian pay check comes in. The biggest expense I can foresee in the near future is making the necessary deposit on a place to live but I could potentially set up TransferWise now and then initiate that transfer remotely from Canada later on.

DigitalGhost

Do any of you have one of those referral links for Transferwise so both sides receive a bonus? I've seen people posting them on Reddit and voucher code websites but I would rather help someone on here who has helped me in the past than line the pockets of a random stranger.

DigitalGhost

Please don't spam like that. I was really looking for one from more of a veteran member anyway.

DigitalGhost

Christmasoompa is going to be on the warpath if you're not careful.

CAN_do_attitude

oh, you did say “any of you” and I was the one who first suggested it.
whatever.