Perth

There have been several people here who have opened HSBC accounts, but most seem to have had a branch nearby. Not such luck here. Anyone opened one online? I am a bricks and mortar kinda gal and I'm a little wary of giving my money over to the internet.

petitefrancaise

what are your concerns?
Having an online bank account is probably about the most secure way of dealing with your money.
I've had an HSBC/First Direct account for almost 20 years whilst living in 3 different countries on 2 different continents. Very easy and you can always call them up if you'd rather hear a lovely yorkshire or glasgow accent!

Perth

Basically, the idea of initially opening an account with a substantial amount of money and not being face to face with the person I am handing over my hard earned money too!

I do feel a little less uneasy though. Would you kindly run me through how you opened the account? Was the money wired from bank to bank?

And, yes, I would happily listen to a Yorshire or Glasgow accent any day

petitefrancaise

Perth, I suggest you phone them and ask them what the best way to do things is. By this, I mean the way that makes you feel most comfortable.

I really can't remember the details of what we did but since First Direct (as it was then) was phone only (no internet then!), I'm pretty sure we just called them to open the account and when that was done, we sent them a cheque. Oh the olden days!

Now, we still have this account and if we need to deposit money into the UK branch then we transfer money to it using a foreign exchange account and even going from the USA to the UK, it takes 24 hours maximum.

Davita

Log on to HSBC.co.uk and that will guide you. There is a wealth of info so I suggest you take your time...they can also take care if you want to switch from your current bank/building society and transfer for you online and maintain standing orders etc.

Perth

Thank you both. I've looked online and OH has called. I think we are set

brits1

Hi, When we lived in Perth we went into the City HSBC Branch and opened our UK account there, it was pretty easy, we also had our bank cards within a few weeks which were delivered to our address in Perth, at the time we did not have an Australian HSBC account. Good luck

Perth

We don't live anywhere near a branch unfortunately. Ideally, we wanted to have a British account opened with cards sent to us ahead of our move. However, I believe you can't have a British account opened in another country anymore because of money laundering laws?

So we will open a US account right now. Still trying to work out what we do for money while we get a UK account set up. OH says travelers cheques but I didn't think people even used those anymore.

Editha

Use your US debit and credit cards.

mrken30

If you are getting a UK pension or other benefits, maybe a post office account would work for a while?

Post Office Card Account | Post Office

Perth

Yes, that's what we will do. Fortunately, we will have DD address in the US to use for credit card bills, etc.

Not of pension age yet, but thanks for the suggestion.

J.JsOH

Hi Perth / Monique
late coming to this as I look in here only occasionally;

I found this (Link attached) comprehensive yet straight forward explanation on getting a UK bank a/c, posted by the company that I now use to transfer $$ to ££.

https://transferwise.com/gb/blog/how...-account-in-uk

John

Perth

Very helpful, thank you John!
~Monique