hsbc - two accounts?

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  1. #11

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    I have never written one in my 7+ years here in Hong Kong.

    And I would say the number of ATMs in the city are plenty, specially since you can use HSBC/Hang Seng together and almost all other banks via Jetco.


  2. #12

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    I wrote 4 cheques in 10 years in hong kong and all in the last 6 months !
    And 2 were write to myself for another bank account !

    You can pay all utilities with the online banking of HSBC, most building management company can be pay by the online banking too !


  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by ebow3d:
    Cheques are 20th century for sure, but so is the HK banking service.
    Some things are done differently here, but banking doesn't seem to be too far behind the times.

    In my opinion, the extra layer of security is what takes some operations a bit longer to process. (e.g. change of address).

    I write one cheque per month, made out to the catering firm which provides lunch to me at my desk. It is more convenient for me than other payment options offered by said catering firm.

    The worst banking I've ever experienced? Argentina. horrible.

  4. #14

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    even the woman that washes my car 4 times a month for a measly $100 is paid via internet banking . . . cheques? what are they?


  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by iRake:
    even the woman that washes my car 4 times a month for a measly $100 is paid via internet banking . . . cheques? what are they?
    Wow, what a rip off! I pay $330 a month for washing 6 times week! It'd only be $270 if it wasn't a 7-seater!

    Anyway back to subject - cheques I never use. Can pay pretty much anything through online banking or PPS. HK transport department always want cheques if you mail in but you can use cash / EPS when you visit them.

    As for ATM I bank with BOC so can use all the Jetco machines with no charge which is pretty much every bank outside the HSBC / Hang Seng network. Never had a problem with finding an ATM close to anything really. As mentioned by someone else I probably only need to visit my branch once or twice a year if that. Banking is easier in HK when you understand what is available and the alternatives for things like bill payments.

  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Curiously I did mine by online bank transfer.
    I've done that by bank transfer to the agent as well.
    Alternatively, if you are a newbie who doesn't know where they are yet, you could use this thing called the "Internet" and find a searchable list of HSBC's 348 ATMs in the territory. And that excludes the Hang Seng ATMs which you can also use free of charge (there's one in every MTR station for a start).Which is once or twice a year. HSBC tried opening a branch in the mid-levels for a year or two. It was open until 8pm every day. Many evenings it didn't get any customers at all. As a shareholder that's not what I want HSBC to spend money on.Or you could just use this thing called the Internet to keep your records up to date at the bank.
    Well, when I applied for gas in DB, at the office, I was told only cash or cheque for the deposit, after I suggested an internet transfer. Same for my leasing agent - I do pay rent electronically though.

    As for changing my passport number to HKID on "that thing called the internet" that detail is not available on HSBC's online service.

    ATMs are scarce in HK. Even in a developing economy, like South Africa, there are atms in every 7/11, every petrol station, every supermarket and every shopping mall and many more, all over the place. Of course, they are all linked to 'Saswitch' which means, all services are available to any banking customer, regardless of which bank your account is at. There are even Saswitch atms, which do not belong to any particular bank. HSBC has only 348 atms in the whole of HK.

    For application for Octopus auto top-up, the only available option is the box... with a 3 - 4 week turn around time.
    Last edited by ebow3d; 01-02-2009 at 12:44 AM.

  7. #17

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    It's hardly reasonable to compare South Africa to Hong Kong. Developing countries tend to be cash-based. In Hong Kong I rarely spend more than HK$1000 in cash each month (and if the taxis took Octopus I'd often have months without using any cash at all) whereas in South Africa I suspect I'd be using cash multiple times a day . Moreover, given the crime rate in South Africa I wouldn't want to be carrying significant amounts of cash around.

    As countries develop they go through a peak of ATM and cash usage and then move on to more sophisticated and convenient payment methods.


  8. #18

    Does matter..

    Yes it does matter. If you write a cheque, you need money in your current account.

    Quote Originally Posted by Urz:
    Have just opened my bank account with HSBC and have discovered there are two accounts - Current and Savings. If I write a cheque, which account needs to have the money in it, or doesn't it matter??

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by ebow3d:
    W

    As for changing my passport number to HKID on "that thing called the internet" that detail is not available on HSBC's online service.
    Exactly. you have to take the bloody thing into a branch and these queue for ages for them to record the number. And WOE BETIDE you if you only take in the temporary one you get first ... oh no... that really won't do at all.

    I have some sympathy for those who think HK banking services are awful. I certainly do! I now maintain my Premier funds outside of HK and use the HK account for day-to-day only....

    And as for cheques .... I emptied my cheque book in the first month of moving here but have not needed many since - which is good because they really are archaic!

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    Exactly. you have to take the bloody thing into a branch and these queue for ages for them to record the number.
    No you don't - you can send it in the mail; here is the form: https://www1.ebanking.hsbc.com.hk/1/...sonal/p001.pdf

    . And you can change everything except your identity document details online.