US Commercial Banks in HK

Fennius · 08-02-2007, 08:08 AM

Hey everyone, I am in need of some help/advise here. I am moving to HK in about 2 weeks. I called my local bank in the US today and they told me that my ATM card will NOT work in Hong Kong (Asia in general). This leaves me in a bind.

Does anyone know if there are any US commercial banks (i.e. Chase, Commerz, etc) in HK? If so, I can try to open one up locally here in the US and just transfer money into it so I can use an ATM card in HK.

Anyone from the US have a similar dilema?? Any advise would be most appreciated.

- Dave

jimbo · 08-02-2007, 09:09 AM

Citibank and China construction bank formerly known as bank of america.

Or to make things easier open an account with HSBC in america.

KnowItAll · 08-02-2007, 09:25 AM

Dave : If you have Cirrus / Plus / Maestro logos on your card, it should work. Unless you're with a small credit union or co-op, your card should work -- with additional charges for overseas withdrawals.

Fennius · 08-02-2007, 09:34 AM

I have the Plus logo on my card, but its from a small credit union with like two other branches in total. They tell me it won't work and I don't think I want to chance testing to see if they are right or not.

Speaking of withdrawl charges, what is a typical range of changes in HK??

Originally Posted by KnowItAll:

Dave : If you have Cirrus / Plus / Maestro logos on your card, it should work. Unless you're with a small credit union or co-op, your card should work -- with additional charges for overseas withdrawals.

KnowItAll · 08-02-2007, 10:11 AM

I'd open an account with HSBC in New York -- they can open your Hong Kong dollar account while you're in the US.

mdg · 09-02-2007, 04:55 PM

like the earlier response said, you can use Bank of America atm cards at China Construction Bank in HK for free. I guess Construction bought the BofA branches or something and maintains this service for their customers. Not sure if any BofA branches still remain or all converted. I've only been to the one in the BofA tower in Admiralty. Since BofA is available almost everywhere in the States this may be a better option than going to New York just to sign up with HSBC if you don't live there. But don't get confused, you get no other benefits (check cashing, free transfer betw accounts) from being a customer in the States of any bank that also has an HK operation.

Also Citibank has a big presence in HK but I'm not sure if you get free ATM withdrawals.
Typical int'l withdrawal fees will be US$3-4 in my experience.

Christine_168 · 12-02-2007, 02:33 PM

I thought I read somewhere here that the Bank of Americas in Hong Kong have no affiliation with the ones in the US, despite what their name may imply. But if you already have a Check Card/ATM Card with BofA already, you can definitely use them at the BofA ATMs in HK with no charge (I did this when I was in HK over the summer). Other than that, I don't think you can do much else with your account...

EDIT - oh wait, Bank of Americas don't exist anymore in HK. mdg was right, they were bought out by China Construction Bank. :P Then I don't know how helpful my info was!

discobay · 12-02-2007, 02:40 PM

American Express Bank has a presence here:
1/F., Henley Building, 5 Queen's Rd Central, 3192-7788
18/F., Cityplaza 4, 12 Taikoo Wan Rd, Taikoo Shing, 2811-1200.

niccy · 12-02-2007, 02:46 PM

hi Dave!
FYI, you need to open up an account in HK in order to have $$ transfer, to be exact - wired, to your HK account.
The US's HSBC, Citibanl, BoA, and Amex bank are not coherent with their HK branches....
this is tricky...
but try to click into www.hsbc.com.hk and see if you can open up an account online.
any further question, feel free to PM me
Nic