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Taking funds to Hong Kong

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Subrat:
    Thanks guys, i think I'll avoid taking a lot of cash with me. Any one has experience with money transfer services ?
    I have heard positive stories about TransferWise but haven't tried it myself yet. Their exchange rates are a lot better than what regular banks use.

  2. #12

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    SC beats HSBC

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  3. #13

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    Interesting. Last week I converted USD into MYR through my regular Malaysian bank. I lost 3% due to the "generous" exchange rate they used for themselves. TransferWise would have saved me almost 3% of the transferred amount.

  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Windmill65:
    Interesting. Last week I converted USD into MYR through my regular Malaysian bank. I lost 3% due to the "generous" exchange rate they used for themselves. TransferWise would have saved me almost 3% of the transferred amount.
    For MYR, use instarem. they offer better rates than transferwise. I transfer HKD to MYR all the time.

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  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by bdw:
    For MYR, use instarem. they offer better rates than transferwise. I transfer HKD to MYR all the time.

    Thank you for this advice! I had not heard of this company but will give a try next time.
    By the way: how many days does a money transfer usually take?

  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Windmill65:
    Thank you for this advice! I had not heard of this company but will give a try next time.
    By the way: how many days does a money transfer usually take?
    For transferring HKD to MYR, I initiate on instarem, then I do a local HKD transfer using online banking from my Standard Chartered account to Instarem DBS account in HK. Then usually same day (or within say 18 hours) instarem email me an acknowledgement of funds received, then within another 1-2 days the funds magically appear in my HSBC MYR account in Malaysia. Also the beautiful part is I receive exactly MYR 5263.16 and not a single cent of fees on either the HK side or Malaysian side. Usually a TT has fees on both sides, but using instarem it is a local funds transfer on both sides with no fees.

    Interestingly, instarem also offer better rates for HKD to AUD than Standard Chartered. So if I want to transfer funds from my HKD account to AUD account in SCB (ie NOT send the money to Australia and leave in in the same HK bank), it is still cheaper for me to send the money to Australia and watch it deposit into my BankWest account in Australia and then send it all they way back to my Standard Chartered account in Hong Kong, than it is to do a simple transfer between accounts in SCB online banking system!! It is ridiculous but true!
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  7. #17

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    @bdw Thank you for your detailed reply. Very helpful.


  8. #18

    Amazing HSBC - as a stock - does not have better earnings given how they skim the exchange rates.There is so much potential for automation in that bank.

    Regarding Transferwise - I was recently offered a debit card from them.I have an account, but have not funded it. What put me off was that there was a $5 (US) charge for transferring USD in to the account - that almost defeats the purpose. If the purpose is to later avoid ATM fees. Euro and other currencies didn't have the charge though.