I just provided a letter from my employer and my passport. Turnaround of 2 weeks
but the point was they kept filling in his form wrong in pathetically small ways and requiring him to come back into the branch to do a new one just cos they stuffed up! Ie incompetant
i had the same experience as cookie when i opened my account 3 years ago. after a couple of months that my pay checks were deposited to my account, i applied for their credit card by picking up one of those leaflet/forms and mailing it back together with the requirements. and got my credit card a few weeks after.
i also use their online facility a lot to pay for bills and taxes, exchange money, transfer money, place time deposits, and applied for another credit card among others. and found this service quite efficient, convenient and i really like it.
with regards to charges and fees, i really can't complain too much as other banks have the same whether here or in other countries.
to the op, this is not in any way defending them. i just want to state my experince with them the past 3 years.
Funny - I have an HSBC direct online savings account. Opened it in the US online. They sent forms in the mail to verify identity and stuff, then sent my atm card and pin. I have used it throughout my stay in HK at ATM's and they never charge me to change cash (account is in USD). Free ACH too so I can easily transfer between my other accounts - brokerage, checking, whatever.
Last edited by meiguoren; 02-05-2008 at 06:30 PM.
jgl - true. But the question is .. for who?
If you think that HSBC sucks, I have yet to find a better one. If you think that SCMP sucks, where is the better one?
I agree that HSBC is pretty incompetent... i've had few probs with their HK branch, that time and patience couldn't resolve... but recently had to send money quickly from the HSBC Australia that I set up purely for the purpose of quickly and simply xferring money to here... to pay the deposit for a mortgage...
6 seperate transfers later, hit with fees each time! ALL because they never approved the initial transfer limit increase, then susequent international faxes were never received! deadling drawing nearer, gave up and sent a xfer each day! Lost a bit on the exchange rates as a result, and hit with multiple fees!
basically they seem to have strength of power here, the consumer protection laws are a joke if not non existent, and unless you can speak canto, customer service is pathetic.... but saving grace is it's better than the opposition, and we're expats, so not here for too long... right??
mortgage was smooth though - suggest alwayss going to the DB branch!
kayak - like most companies, if you're dealing with routine matters (mortgages etc) you'll be ok with most banks. HSBC has nothing special to offer. However, they fall apart pretty spectacularly for consumers who need things done a little bit out of the ordinary (i.e. its not memorized from the training manuals) AND you're not in the premier or bankrupt billionaire schemes that they have going.
And then there is the whole "no one got fired for buying from IBM" thing that equates to "no finance manager got fired for banking with HSBC" ... they tend to be the default choice for most people, specially expats.
There are better deals around and there are banks that work harder for you, you just have to get out of the mindset of banking with a bank that does not work for you.
I challenge the original poster to move his money and services out of HSBC... nah .. that would never happen, as it would involve actual work and getting down from the soap box.