SCB & Others Refusing Personal Accounts

[GotIt]

Citibank and HSBC are (still?) on the reasonable side.

[Grinnie Jax]

It's funny that Russians get everything opposite - MOX, Standard Chartered, and BoC work with them like a charm, but HSBC and Hang Seng ban them like crazy and don't allow account opening. Coincidence?

[MABinPengChau]

Passport of a small country which is European version of North Korea/Iran

Ah, and here I thought you meant "US Passport" as due to onerous tax reporting burdens, no one is really fond of us, either.

Sorry for your troubles, my business partner and I went to something like 8 banks (including Citibank) to try to get our first business account (we are both US citizens but he is also HK, born in HK) and, yeah, can just refuse you for no reason (and yes, I know business account is much different but still crazy frustrating nonetheless). Banks in HK are just...strange. But, then, banks in both Japan and Taiwan were stranger so can't really complain. At least I don't need a personal ink seal of my name like it is 1753...

[a2892566]

Closing personal accounts is very serious issue. Every person in hk has right to have a bank account. I would bring the closure of account to HKMA attention. You should also request subject access request from bank that close the account. The request requires the bank to turn over all documentation why they closed the account. You can research this more on YouTube or Google. Key words Nigel Farage, account closed subject access request

[a2892566]

Closing someone bank is a very serious issue. Everyone in the community has a right to bank account regardless of where they are from. We are International city with citizens and passports from around world. I don't disagree with you that HKMA might not care but they are regulator and I would still file my compliant with them. What happened to you happens to people everyday in hk and around world. Research online the Nigel farage bank account closed in UK. It's on YouTube and Google. Do what he did and file subject access request with bank who closed the account. The bank has to turnover to you your file they have why they closed the account. If it's over your citizenship this is discrimination. Do what Nigel did and get politicians in hk involved. Write to SCMP. Do everything like your note here to go after them. Good luck

[GotIt]

We have to carefully pick the fights we fight. HKMA received one "enquiry" on SC, and 3 complaints via complaint form for Mox (3 individuals holding the same nationality coordinated text and sent complaints, referring each other cases too), which could have been an easy win (small bank, simple accounts, not much can do wrong with it - cannot even send SWIFT transfer abroad), and Mox has closed 3 accounts on the same day, and have sent same copy-paste reply on HKMA referrral of the complaint. But HKMA replied to all 3 complaints

We noted that the Bank had handled your complaint and replied you in writing on <date>. Since the Bank has responded to your allegations raised in the complaint, we do not intend to take any further action.

And Mox bank's reply was to all three (direct quote, after cutting all the bullshit - they quoted their rules and all 8 reasons there to close account, but didn't say what reason was used. And actually from HKMA's website bank has to provide the reason. It was one of the points of the complaints):

Regarding the Bank’s decision, we are unfortunately unable to provide any more details than what was stated in our emails sent to you

So we just have to adjust and understand that we have the same challenges Iranians and some other nationalities in HK have...