ExBritFL

Hi,

We are trying to organize and get a head start preceding our move to the UK (hopefully in June ) next year.

I currently have a Barclays saver account in the UK but I doubt that will translate into a current account without a permanent address, utility bills etc.

Need some advice on the following: is there a HSBC or other bank account which I can open in the US which doubles as a UK account right away when we move? We have proceeds from the sale of our house which we will ultimately transfer over and want to utilize. Not sure the best way to do this; I've heard mixed things about HSBC allowing this and many having issues with getting a HSBC account once they arrive.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

durham_lad

Opening an HSBC US account is not a global account, you also need to open an HSBC UK account and that is possible, and you do have time to this, but there are some hurdles. HSBC US are only servicing wealthy customers so you would need $100k to open an account with them, then you would need to physically go to an HSBC branch in the USA to sign documents etc to open an HSBC UK account.

Since you already have a Barclays UK savings account you already have somewhere to send and hold money in GBP. As soon as you are resident with a utility bill as proof of address you will be able to open a Barclays checking account. Meanwhile you can open a Wise account with UK sort code and account number denominated in GBP now, and you can order a UK debit card so that on arrival you immediately have a checking account available for use. This is the approach our daughter is going to use this year. She has her Wise account and has tried it out already. On arrival she will be opening an account with Chase UK, her existing account is with Chase US.

Hopefully this plan will work. She is meeting with a Realtor tomorrow to see about putting her US house on the market.

ExBritFL

Thanks for this info. Although we have funds for the International HSBC account, traveling almost 200 miles to physically open a UK account is not going to be feasible. Barclays had mentioned that overseas Saver accounts were subject to change for foreign addresses in the future, so I will check on that before transferring any money over. Wise seems like a good option in the interim, thank you. So if your daughter is banking with Chase US, does this help in opening an account with Chase UK? I foresee us not having an address for a couple of months; we may end up renting an Air BNB for a month or so until we can secure a rental (both husband and I will be coming from the US and won't be able to view any rental properties from over here). Also need to find somewhere which will be pet friendly ~ seems to be more of a challenge in the UK than over here in the States!

durham_lad

I will report back on easy it turns out to be for our daughter to open that Chase account when she gets here. The online site reckons that it is easy once she is here so we will see.

She has a big advantage that she will be staying with us initially and our utility company tells me it is quick and easy to add her name to our account once she is here. When our son did this 5 years ago he already had an HSBC US account which definitely helped (he also didn’t want to travel hundreds of miles to open an HSBC UK account from the USA). HSBC accepted a utility bill from us plus a letter stating that our son was staying with us while looking to buy a house.

ExBritFL

That would be great thank you!

ExBritFL

Just wanted to update, I have been on the phone to Barclays uk who advised me that because I already have a Barclays Saver account; opening a current account alongside it will not require utility bills etc as they already have an account active. Apparently I need to go into the branch when I arrive in order to open the account.

Sounds simple but not sure if the reality of this will be the same!

durham_lad

Oh, I think you are well set

ExBritFL

I sure hope so! I'll stop by a branch when we come over for a vacation this year!

kateg60

Questions about Wise; I have not used this service but have an account. Is the best way to transfer money from US -
1) directly to your UK bank account or
2) to Wise then to your UK bank?
I ask because I am uncomfortable linking my US account to Wise and or saving account information in Plaid. Many thanks.

durham_lad

"or saving account information in Plaid." - Not quite sure what you are asking here?

I have a Wise account, and have been using Wise for quite a few years, back when it was TransferWise. I now have a Wise borderless account and have it linked to my Vanguard brokerage account so that Vanguard can pay money into it. Wise has no details on my Vanguard account at all.

When one wants to move money from a US bank to a UK bank Wise only needs to know the destination account details and if you are going to use this bank account more than once you can choose to have Wise save the details for future use. Once one initiates the transfer Wise gives you the option of wiring the funds directly to them or setting up your US bank account and it will pull the funds using the usual ACH method which takes 2 or 3 business days. Wiring the money is much faster plus Wise never needs to know your US bank account information. When setting up a Wise account you will be given a Wise membership number and when making the wire to Wise that membership number simply needs to be in the memo section of the wire. As soon as the wire is received Wise begins the transfer to your destination bank in the UK. If the wire to Wise is executed on a business day morning then I have always found that the money arrives in my UK account the same day. I have transferred hundreds of thousands using this method over the past 6 years.

PS
My US bank does not charge wire fees so sending a wire is free for me, plus I have Wise set up as a payee in my bank account including my Wise membership number in the memo field so sending a wire is very quick and easy for me to do.

Pulaski

Plaid is a fintech app that enables you to link accounts at different banks, brokers, and other FIs.

I think the OP is concerned about how effective Plaid's fire wall is, to prevent information leakage between different organizations that you have linked through Plaid's app. I would be too.

durham_lad

Thanks, I’ve not heard of that app before.

kateg60

Exactly, this was the option given to me. durham_lad I will check again to see if I missed something.

kateg60

I am not given these options, I can send to myself via a bank. Not to Wise. May be not the same account?

durham_lad

They are different. If you just want to use Wise as a forex company then the bank details you wire money to is different to the bank used by Wise that gives you a US bank routing number and personal account number.

You don't have to have a Wise "checking account" to send money overseas using Wise.