mister_meow

2 quick questions

Can I open an HSBC British Bank Account - I noticed they do British bank accounts here in Canada and I can see you do from Britain to Canada - Then I can use my Canadian address to get the debit and credit card - hopefully I won't have any issue in Chester at HSBC branches - Because I need address to open a British account - I can't leave Canada with money order and get on plane and then open up account - because I will have no address - Nor can i carry large amounts of cash to rent a place in order to get an address that is just asking for trouble.

Also I have sold my house can you sign off early on House and have the money debit into an account. Because I'm just waiting right now....

Thanks in advance.

Wawa

Hi, funnily enough I went into HSBC today in Toronto, and was advised it will cost $200 to open a GBP account. It seems you can open it online and is relatively straightforward. I have yet to check out the website, but thought you would be interested to know. We will be doing the same thing and depositing the funds before we depart Canada and hopefully will be able to draw as soon as we arrive.

Mummy in the foothills

I noticed a HSBC international account ad on UK tele this morning (watching UK form the US)
I wondered if it's possible to deposit $ (US) and withdraw as £ when we got to UK.
If anyone gets one of these accounts and it works I'd be interested to find out what you think of it. and what it entailed.

Wawa

Hi MitF, This will work, I have spoken to HSBC regarding this - we plan to deposit CAD here in Toronto before we leave and draw £ once we arrive. Its the perfect solution.

mister_meow

Let me get this right it cost $200 dollars just to open an account - Is that a fee just to open the account or that just the min amount you have to deposit to keep the account open.......

Relocateme

I left from Manitoba, Canada to UK in April 2010. I went into HSBC bank and told them my house was sold and I am waiting for the lawyer to process the transaction. They opened up a Premier account which is free and then after a few weeks the house funds were deposited into this account. You have to deposit over $100,000.

I told them what my plan was and we set up the account for my needs

Now, you can load up this global account with GBP, Canadian $, US$ and whatever else you want. Your debit card is your travel card and when you get here you will be able to get money out of any HSBC ATM free of charges.

You must tell HSBC in Canada though to give you cards which have the chip in them...this will allow you to pay for goods in the store with your card. If not they will have to swipe the card and then you sign for the goods.
UK operates stricly with the chip...Canada must catch up with this.

Then I went in to UK HSBC and opened up an account here in Brum and linked the UK account with the Canadian one.

There are tons of benefits having a Premier account:autoamatic travel insurance for you and family,first transfer free (make sure you use that if you want to transfer most back to UK)
drawbacks are if your account falls below the fifty thou mark...you get dinged twentyfive pounds per month for your account fees and its quite pricey paying in the UK store with the UK card
I was with CIBC in Canada and had over- 60 free banking so got to watch all this stuff now

However ..wherever you go in the world, HSBC has a branch..largest bank in the world (branches) and the 2nd largest assests...no fears then

I went in the first time to open the account in Canada and was there about an hour with some training on the access ...they require a lot of info. A week before I went I had to go for a review to make sure I could use everything ok with my new cards and could get on the system...was glad I did
Hope this helps

mister_meow

Thanks big time Relocateme - I'm off to see them - I don't have that kinda of money so I have to see whats what - LOL - I do intend to switch banks as soon as arrive. once I get the flat sorted and have address or switch free account - I work that all out once I got there.

Ummm...Canadian accounts can cost upto 30 bucks a month here and people thinks it's normal.

Mummy in the foothills

30 a month!
My accounts are all free at the credit union. I don't think I want to go back to paying fees each month.

penguinsix

Premier accounts have a $100,000 US minimum balance (or whatever currency is about the same) but it doesn't necessarily have to be cash. You can rollover some IRA or 401k retirement program or use HSBC as your stock broker to satisfy the requirement.

Or you can come to Hong Kong, where right now they have waived the minimum balance requirement for 1 year. Once you have an HSBC Premier Account in one country, your other HSBC accounts are upgraded automatically.

We got HSBC primarily for multi-currency transactions, but I must confess we haven't actually used it for that just yet.

Luckyone

Is there a charge then for transfers after the first one? I read the blurb on their web site for the Premier account and it suggests that all transfers are free, am I missing something? My plan is to open a Canadian account, then a UK one for my Brit pension to be paid into, then I can transfer the pension to the Canadian account, at the same time changing it into $'s......doesn't it work this way?

jakamarra

I opened one in Sydney on the 18th March and the account was opened in London on the same day. No problems and considering the high cost of using my Australian card in the UK the AUD200 was worth it.
Only one problem. You will find mail from HSBC comes from all over the place. Statements from Coventry, International stuff from Wales, pin number from Kent and wait for it, the card is posted in Frankfurt, Germany. The latter was a major problem as it took the card over a month to get through by then the card was cancelled and they will not send another O/S.
Made a complaint to HQ Canada Sq. they apologized and gave me £10 and aauthorizedthe card to be sent to Australia. The card eventually came through last week and I am waiting in Malaysia for the Express mail to deliver it here that a friend sent on. Apart from that everything else was excellent
Bob...

Luckyone

When you say, you opened one, is that the Premier account or the Advance, reason I ask is that I thought the account opening in other countries was free with the Premier and if its the Advance one they do charge you ($100 Can here) but the Global View isn't planned to be available for the Advance account 'til later this summer, maybe Q3.....and it's the ability to transfer/change currency on line that I find appealing. Anyone out there used this facility? If so can you comment on how it works, exchange rate etc.
Tks.

penury

surely - banks love to charge for things, and I can only imagine the hidden small print of fees, service charges & minimum balances should be taken into consideration before opening such accounts

I went to the HSBC website & found minimum balance of $100k for the premium account & $25k for the advance account otherwise nice service charges of $25/mth apply

Unless I missed something, folks on here seem to be high end or very rich compared to my standards

jakamarra

I do not qualify for a Premier so the account I opened was an ordinary savings account simply called 'Bank Account' there was nothing about Advance accounts.
There are also other agents for other UK Banks and all charge the same price. I used HSBC as I bank with HSBC.
Still waiting for my express mail from Australia with my card. As I said this is the only problem I have had.
Bob...

maureenb

We opened a HSBC Acount whilst in UK last month . Now we find out that our work pensions from Canada will only send us our payments in $cheques wondering if HSBC will allow us to deposit them. and is there a charge This is a shock for us, we thought they would be direct deposit.
Maureen