HSBC in the US & UK? Where do you bank?

Hello all,

We're preparing for our move to the UK and would like to set up banking in advance if possible. HSBC seems to be one of the few banks with locations in both countries. They offer an expat service and after speaking to their International Banking Centre, we're strongly leaning towards opening accounts with them.

The advantages seem to be that we can set up accounts in both USD and GBP but have everything at the same bank and see it in one place. They also said there are no fees for moving money across accounts. Sounds ideal, but never having dealt with them in either country, we're wondering about others experiences. My partner is a UKC and has a Building Society account (sounds like a credit union to me) and HAD a current account with Barclays but closed it before moving to the states 7 years ago.

Barclays and Lloyds will also let us open UK accounts before we move, but I like the idea of consolidating our accounts from both countries under one bank. The instant/no-fee cross-currency fund transfer seems like a no brainer to me, vs. the money transfer services I've seen mentioned here. However, perhaps all is not as it seems. Has anyone tried their 'expat banking' scheme or their 'global view' online banking services?

I'm going with HSBC simply because my US accounts and IRA are with them, so I have their "Advance" relationship and presumably as the IRA grows it'll eventually be "Premier". Make sure you check the minimum balance bits for the international center, as it might make a difference (most of their services are geared towards people with more than $100k USD in the bank, possibly £50k in the UK but I'm not 100% sure on those numbers.)

But keep in mind you can use a service like transferwise for going between different banks in the US and abroad. I honestly will be comparing their rates to HSBC's anytime I need to move money even with the relationship I have there.

I'm going with HSBC simply because my US accounts and IRA are with them, so I have their "Advance" relationship and presumably as the IRA grows it'll eventually be "Premier". Make sure you check the minimum balance bits for the international center, as it might make a difference (most of their services are geared towards people with more than $100k USD in the bank, possibly £50k in the UK but I'm not 100% sure on those numbers.)

But keep in mind you can use a service like transferwise for going between different banks in the US and abroad. I honestly will be comparing their rates to HSBC's anytime I need to move money even with the relationship I have there.

Thanks Margo!

I should qualify for a Premier relationship if I move my investment accounts or consolidate some of my other checking accounts, but since they said I could do the same with having Advance (just a 10k balance per acct), I'll probably go that route and leave my other accounts alone. Have you set up a UK Advance account yet and tried moving money over from your US account? They claim it's totally fee-free and immediate but I imagine they must build some sort of profit into their exchange rates.

I'd be curious to see if it is actually free/instant as they say, or otherwise how it compares to TransferWise, PayPal, etc.

We have HSBC accounts in the US and UK and it does work as advertised except TransferWise is still cheaper for sums up to $15k   When we bought a house I needed to transfer a lot so used HSBC Global transfer between accounts.

As part of our son moving back this year he opened a US HSBC account and became Premier when he moved the money to it that he was going to be buying a UK house with. On arrival in the UK where he has never lived as an adult it was then much easier to open his first UK bank account.

Like me he has only used the global transfer of funds feature for sums over $100,000. The transfer happens within the hour while TransferWise can take a few days. I cue up online a transfer with HSBC when I’m ready to move, usually $5-10k, and TransferWise is always much cheaper so click submit for them and cancel on the HSBC site. My pensions are mostly US so I do transfer lots of money each year.

We have HSBC accounts in the US and UK and it does work as advertised except TransferWise is still cheaper for sums up to $15k   When we bought a house I needed to transfer a lot so used HSBC Global transfer between accounts.

As part of our son moving back this year he opened a US HSBC account and became Premier when he moved the money to it that he was going to be buying a UK house with. On arrival in the UK where he has never lived as an adult it was then much easier to open his first UK bank account.

Like me he has only used the global transfer of funds feature for sums over $100,000. The transfer happens within the hour while TransferWise can take a few days. I cue up online a transfer with HSBC when I’m ready to move, usually $5-10k, and TransferWise is always much cheaper so click submit for them and cancel on the HSBC site. My pensions are mostly US so I do transfer lots of money each year.

Durhamlad,

That's exactly what I was looking for - thank you!

Just one other thing. On their website they claim they can help transfer your US credit history. I imagine what they actually mean is that they'll use your US credit history to get you access to their UK credit products? Seems like a good way to help build UK credit should I ever need it.

Thanks again for sharing! I'll take a closer look at TransferWise.

I Can tell you that as a bank here in the UK, they are adequate.  The online application works and is secure, the ATM machines work, the debit cards are contact less, the call centre answers their phone in a reasonable time.  Don't take any of these for granted when judging a bank. 

I'm not sure if it's because I'm just doing smaller amounts, I've been using them for so long, or they're getting faster, but my most recent Transferwise USD-to-GBP transfer of $1000 took a couple of hours start to finish.

I use Barclays because they are everywhere.  I only know of one HSBC in a large radius to my house. 

I always search for the best exchange rate and fee mix before any transfers (I only do one or two a year).

I'm not sure if it's because I'm just doing smaller amounts, I've been using them for so long, or they're getting faster, but my most recent Transferwise USD-to-GBP transfer of $1000 took a couple of hours start to finish.

I move 2 bits of money every month ($2100+$4600).......mine almost always go the same day($4650 less than an hour ago) if done early in the day. The next day at the worst.

I Can tell you that as a bank here in the UK, they are adequate.  The online application works and is secure, the ATM machines work, the debit cards are contact less, the call centre answers their phone in a reasonable time.  Don't take any of these for granted when judging a bank.

Jim, thanks! I don't take those things for granted and it's good to know. We're going to take the plunge and set up accounts with them ahead of the move 

Durhamlad,

That's exactly what I was looking for - thank you!

Just one other thing. On their website they claim they can help transfer your US credit history. I imagine what they actually mean is that they'll use your US credit history to get you access to their UK credit products? Seems like a good way to help build UK credit should I ever need it.

Thanks again for sharing! I'll take a closer look at TransferWise.

I did their credit card immediately and it isn’t too bad. No annual fee and you get points for rewards which I have set to automatically send me M&S gift cards which spend on groceries. However it does charge foreign transaction fees so use my US HSBC credit when traveling overseas.

After 6 months you should have enough credit rating to look for better cards.

I use Barclays because they are everywhere.  I only know of one HSBC in a large radius to my house. 

I always search for the best exchange rate and fee mix before any transfers (I only do one or two a year).

Thanks! It definitely doesn't seem like they're big on branches, but I'm ok with that as long as I can get to one if I have to. I hadn't set foot inside Wells Fargo for years until I needed stamped statements for the visa lol. Also, I believe British ATMs are all free if you have a UK account so that shouldn't be an issue.

It'll be good to have this sorted ahead of the move and there are plenty of pros so we'll go with HSBC for now. Others here seem happy enough with them. We can always switch to Barclays or Lloyds if we have to, down the road.

I appreciate all the feedback from everyone... Thank you!

You are right, there's usually no reason to go to a branch.  Everything is online and there's free ATMs everywhere.  The UK is pretty close to a cashless society anyway.

You are right, there's usually no reason to go to a branch.  Everything is online and there's free ATMs everywhere.  The UK is pretty close to a cashless society anyway.

Yup!  I pretty much have only gone in for visa stuff!

You are right, there's usually no reason to go to a branch.  Everything is online and there's free ATMs everywhere.  The UK is pretty close to a cashless society anyway.

My town currently has two bank branches. By the end of next June it will be zero...

I don't think the UK is close to being a cashless society. I still regularly use cash for:

• Small shops that don't take cards
• Shops that have a minimum spend of £5 for cards
• Tradespeople that prefer cash
• Entry fees and parking fees to local events
• Food stalls and markets
• Bridge tolls