Functioning in another country brings many challenges, some of them endlessly time-consuming. International banking is one of the most complicated, and one of the most important to get right. Our latest venture at the bank – three trips over three days, ultimately successful – confirms our belief that it’s a good thing we’re retired! It’s not that things are always harder in Europe and the UK, just that we don’t know how they work. We present here part one of the ongoing saga of setting up our finances to function worldwide with as little fuss as possible.
In the Beginning There Was HSBC
Fifteen years ago, Laurel opened a bank account in the UK. This was no easy task, occupying the best part of about a week. Much of that is her fault, obviously, for not knowing about Bank Holiday Mondays. She went to HSBC because it was on the Cornmarket and she passed by it every day. Plus she had a premonition that it could be useful to have a bank account with branches in the US. For a long time, it wasn’t, but see the final paragraph for the exciting denouement!
Although she was a rising star in her profession, Laurel could only open a no-interest student account with HSBC. This, if she behaved herself very well, would after twelve months magically transform itself into a ‘basic’ account, bearing the usual laughable interest rate. The account came with a wide range of limits (no checks, five withdrawals a month, etc.), but she was able to pay her rent. She was even, eventually, persistent enough to have royalties from her UK publishers deposit directly into this account. (That sounds very grand but any academic will assure you that it is not.) Not a bad beginning into international banking at all.
And Then There Was RBS
Several years later, inspired by the ease and simplicity of all this, John opened his own account. (Or not: he was a visiting professor in Edinburgh and needed a UK account to receive paychecks.) Laurel’s account would not do, said the authorities. A delightful merry-go-round ensued, in which the Royal Bank of Scotland refused to open an account and the University refused all other options. Finally, John obtained a letter with a crest from a high-up University administrator suggesting that opening the account would be considered a great personal favour; a mere two weeks later John had his account. For years, then, each of us has had a bank account in the UK, complete with two-factor authentication and chip and pin, years before these technological marvels came to our US accounts.
And Then There Was HSBC
And now, flash-forward to us in the early 2020s, plotting our mad scheme. John, in charge of bank accounts, discovers that HSBC US has a ‘Premier’ account. This account offers some groovy benefits: we can scan and deposit checks from anywhere and transfer money to any other HSBC account without a fee. Voilà! (this simple word covers another four or five visits with our various bankers) – we have consolidated all of our US accounts into a single account with HSBC US Premier, and all of our UK accounts into one HSBC UK account. There are no foreign transaction fees for the use of either account, they charge no ATM fees. It looks as though we have to use two apps rather than one, but we’re currently planning a week’s worth of visits to the local branch to see if they can be linked. Our international banking empire continues!
We’ll report back what happens outside of these two countries: the abundant literature on the topic suggests that with the Global Money feature of the HSBC US-based app we can change money in our account into any of eight currencies. If we are feeling bored when we’re in Euro-land, we might even try to open a third HSBC account. Stay tuned!
Legal disclaimer: this is not a testimonial for HSBC, certainly not until we see how it plays out around the world. But, just so we’re clear, we have received no special consideration, goods or services from HSBC anywhere in the world.
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Thanks Micah! We’ve heard good things about Bunq too, and might have gone with them but for our HSBC connection. Agreed that the world is getting smaller, currency-wise. All of this stuff seems to be getting easier, however (remember traveller’s checks?).
I have been locked out of my Barclay’s account — which I have had since 1992 [when it took me a week to open it in Durham– you can imagine the hours there, never mind Bank Holidays] — for months because the combination of pin, chip, sentryguard machine, account number, membership number, and magic charm no longer seems to work. Call us, they say, we are open 24 hours. One calls. They are, it seems, open for about 15 minutes, time which is rapidly eaten up by being placed on hold [one of these phone calls cost me 15 dollars and at no point did i speak to a person]. Perhaps i will try HSBC.
Hi Chris and thanks for writing! We have also fallen victim to the ‘call any time’ trap, clearly there just to amuse someone or other. HSBC has now allowed us to upgrade from the nonfunctional pin-generating machine to a series of permanent talismanic numbers we’ll never remember. But both UK and US apps allow for fingerprint recognition, and presumably we can keep track of our fingers. Nevertheless, we persist…
I had similar challenges opening an account in the Netherlands, especially when they found out I was only in the country for a limited amount of time. I found a home and LOVED my banking experience with BUNQ (https://www.bunq.com/); very European-focused, but perfect for our travels and mobile lifestyle in 2018/19. Reading this now, I kinda wish I’d kept the account open just in case.
I’m curious how the fintech (d)evolution will play out for travelers in the near and distant future.