Hsbc (Uk) To Hsbc (Thailand) Would This "Fly"?

[Penkoprod]

Probably the latter, but i'll ask anyway

I have an HSBC current account here in UK. Just the normal "nobbie" account that i've had for 30 years. I read a thread on here on a slightly similar subject and one poster said there were no transfer fees involved in transferring cash to Thailand as long as the person has HSBC accounts in both countries, as it ws treated as just an "account to account" type transfer....like i do now between my current account and savings accounts within the HSBC accounts i hold. This, as you can imagine tended one to look further into it. Rather than contact the HSBC so called customer service dept and ask them, i thought to ask here if anyone can throw light on the procedure and so on. I know opening an account with HSBC in Thailand is possible with a long stay visa, such as a non o Imm for retirement purposes, so that shouldnt be too much of a burden to do.

Am i correct so far?

The questions, here are, what type of account would i need to have in UK for this "free transfers" deal to stick?

Would i just need what i have, or would i need to upgrade to one of their monthly fee incurring accountsm, such as Advance, or Premier?

Also, i would expect an ATM card from HSBC Thailand...is that doable, or does one just get a passbook account? Or, again is there a monthly fee incurring account thats needed in Thailand as well, for this free transfer deal?

Lastly, would this (hopefully given) ATM card incur the 150Baht usary fee, or does it get treated as a "Thai bank to Thai bank" transaction, where the fee could be either zero, or negligible.

Penkoprod

[Stjohnm]

I spoke to HSBC in HK about opening up a forex account for trading purposes, the deal basically was to trade in currencies with HSBC they would open an account in each country in which you bought and sold currency so if you bought Aussie dollars with the greenback they'd transfer the desired amount from a US to an Australian Account, sell the Aussie dollars for Baht its an interbank transfer from your Australian account to your Thai and so on, basicly they don't really do foreign currency accounts as money held in a currency is held in its home country. They offered me an account package that didn't charge but that could of been because of the volume & frequency of the transactions. If you are only dealing in Sterling & Baht then you'll only need your present accounts and one in Baht based in Thailand.

Go to your local branch in the UK and tell them what you need and they'll tell what they offer. If they offer you an account with no swift fees but a monthly fee it could be more expensive than having a Baht account with a Thai bank like Bangkok Bank or SCB if you only send money to it 3-4 times a year but significant amounts, it could be allot cheaper than the subscription service offered by HSBC.

Now is not a good time to buy Baht with Sterling, wait until the Lib/Con Gov. 1st budget at the moment the markets are bracing for bad news.

Edited June 8, 2010 by Stjohnm

[cardholder]

I think you will need Global Premier. Not sure if you can pick up this link:-

Global Premier Demo

It's not for the plebs. Qualifying criteria is here:-

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/current-accounts/hsbc-premier;jsessionid=0000NYN1uqdqcTzWKNhE-ETz9M6:14etg74ed?HBEU_dyn_lnk=HSBCPremier_HomePageRHS_FindOutMore_Button

For those UK customers who do not meet the criteria you may wish to consider transferring funds to a Halifax Reward account (getting £5 a month bonus by paying in £1,000 or more) and paying £9.50 for SWIFT transfers to your Thai bank.

[paulandmaneerat]

I have no time for HSBC Thailand. A company I worked for holds a long standing HSBC account. An overseas customer of mine transferred payment for goods supplied to the account ($5,000) but they returned it as of suspect origin. This blue chip customer is a well known international company. On another occasion a visiting Director tried to pay 500,000 baht over the counter at HSBC on Rama 4 on to his private account. He had brought Euros from The Netherlands and changed them into Thai baht at what in those heady days was a favourable rate. HSBC demanded to know where they money came from. When told, they refused to accept the story and refused to accept the money. It was Friday afternoon. He couldn't pay his own money on to his own account. He spent the weekend walking around Babgkok with half a million baht in his pocket until he could deposit it into a Thai bank account (mine) without difficulty on Monday morning.

P&M

[beejoir]

HSBC Thailands service is the best of any Bank in Thailand. Though they do stick to the laws 'see above post' which can make them quite hard to deal with sometimes.

Also they ask you to have around 300,000 or 400,000 in you account at all times, or even to open an account there.... if you don't they charge you a monthly fee which is about 300 baht.

Solid bank though and they treat you well.

[utneflyte]

Would i just need what i have, or would i need to upgrade to one of their monthly fee incurring accountsm, such as Advance, or Premier?

Also, i would expect an ATM card from HSBC Thailand...is that doable, or does one just get a passbook account? Or, again is there a monthly fee incurring account thats needed in Thailand as well, for this free transfer deal?

Lastly, would this (hopefully given) ATM card incur the 150Baht usary fee, or does it get treated as a "Thai bank to Thai bank" transaction, where the fee could be either zero, or negligible.

I don't have HSBC Thailand, but I do use them in other countries.

There is no ATM fee of 150 baht if you use any HSBC ATM machines, with HSBC ATM cards, in the world. However, there's only one ATM Machine in Bangkok...

Upgrading to a "Plus" account or "Premier" account provides you with other benefits, such as better exchange rates (although not by much and only makes a difference for large transfers), and better customer service. A "Premier" account also enables you to open a HSBC Thailand bank account more easily.

In the end it all depends how much money you need in Thailand, if you are going to purchase property, support Thai gf and her family, etc, then a local bank would help. But if it's just for daily items and rent, then just use your HSBC ATM Card to withdraw what you need.

[Penkoprod]

Oh well, thats another route to the holy grail of less money going into greedy banks (both UK and Thai ones) leading to a dead end...just like i thought it would (but hoped to be wrong)

Just one thing.....cardholder, you say its only £9:50 to SWIFT transfer using the Halifax.

Can i ask have you ever used this to send money using online transfer? The reason i ask is that i have it on good authority that you cant send Sterling using the online method, and to do so would involve going into a branch and paying £20, instead of the £9:50 for the privilage. Sending baht (as we know) gives a crap rate, which, again, negates any saving of fees.

Thanks for the replies, everyone

Penkoprod

[pkrv]

Probably the latter, but i'll ask anyway

I have an HSBC current account here in UK. Just the normal "nobbie" account that i've had for 30 years. I read a thread on here on a slightly similar subject and one poster said there were no transfer fees involved in transferring cash to Thailand as long as the person has HSBC accounts in both countries, as it ws treated as just an "account to account" type transfer....like i do now between my current account and savings accounts within the HSBC accounts i hold. This, as you can imagine tended one to look further into it. Rather than contact the HSBC so called customer service dept and ask them, i thought to ask here if anyone can throw light on the procedure and so on. I know opening an account with HSBC in Thailand is possible with a long stay visa, such as a non o Imm for retirement purposes, so that shouldnt be too much of a burden to do.

Am i correct so far?

The questions, here are, what type of account would i need to have in UK for this "free transfers" deal to stick?

Would i just need what i have, or would i need to upgrade to one of their monthly fee incurring accountsm, such as Advance, or Premier?

Also, i would expect an ATM card from HSBC Thailand...is that doable, or does one just get a passbook account? Or, again is there a monthly fee incurring account thats needed in Thailand as well, for this free transfer deal?

Lastly, would this (hopefully given) ATM card incur the 150Baht usary fee, or does it get treated as a "Thai bank to Thai bank" transaction, where the fee could be either zero, or negligible.

Penkoprod

IMO Take a look at the pinned tread - We sort of are going through this. - From my persoanl perspective (UK based) HSBC - NO - but in life all things change.

[ExpatJ]

As a Premier member, yes you can transfer funds at no cost between your HSBC accounts in different countries.

[chiang mai]

Free with HSBC Premier, non-Premier customers are charged around £17 for that same transfer. HSBC works well for me.

BTW, the UK charge for not maintaining the minimum Premier balance is £20 per month, the HSBC BKK charge for the same is about Baht 2,500 per month whilst HSBC Hong Kong is HKD 380 per month, so the UK option is fairly reasonably priced in these days when banks are charging for ordainary accounts.

Edited June 10, 2010 by chiang mai

[Bonio]

I don't see the benefit of an HSBC Thailand account just to save a few bob on money transfer. HSBC have been pestering me for months to move to Premier Account but as I see it they want to keep an additional 35k GBP of your money and offer you annual benefits of about 300GBP. If you are the kind of guy who likes to keep 60k GBP in a bank earning buttons then fair play to you. I prefer to use it to earn a bit more.

I am a bit pissed off with HSBC at the moment because they have been adding these stealth charges over a period of the last two years. First there was the minimum 'relationship balance' of £25k or you get a charge. Then there was the offer of Premier if you kept £60k in the account for very little reward and then if you didn't want Premier status and kept above the minimum relationship balance they were still going to charge you anyway + they now charge for using non-HSBC ATM's overseas. It stinks and I am looking to move to an offshore bank that is not looking to fleece its customers at every opportunity. However, I suspect my search will be a long one!

[wanderingstar]

>> I am looking to move to an offshore bank that is not looking to fleece its customers at every opportunity. However, I suspect my search will be a long one!

<<

Hi Bonio. Me too.

If you come across one would you please share with me on [email protected]

Regards