Students - banking w/ HSBC in the U.K.

[bpaul]

As a student I recommend opening a Canadian HSBC account in Canada before you leave for the U.K. A friend recommended that I do this and I'm glad that I took his advice! I received my Canadian HSBC debit card right in the bank upon opening my account, and made sure to set up email money transfers from my regular Canadian bank account (not HSBC) so that I could receive money in my new HSBC account.

I flew to the U.K. and was able to use my Canadian HSBC debit card in HSBC machines without charge (many Marks&Spencer debit machines are also HSBC machines). I then went about setting up a U.K. HSBC account. In order to do this I went to the bank and made an appointment to set up an account. They asked for the following documentation: letter from my University confirming full-time student status, proof of my address in the U.K. (a letter from U.K. agency with your name and address, I used a bill), and my passport (including my student visa).

The process is not instantaneous as you will have to wait until you are a bit set up and can receive a bill or some other proof of your address at your address in the U.K. If you have access to your funds though (as I did through my Canadian HSBC debit card), this method could work.

[Tigerlea]

Hey, just to add.

I basically did the same thing before I moved here (though I opened my HSBC account over a year before my move as I was going on holiday in England before moving.)

There are two things you didn't mention that are important.

1) Yes, you have access to your Canadian money in an HSBC account in the UK, but you have a maximum daily withdrawl amount of $400 (so approximately £200). I called HSBC to change this, but the max they would give me (after a year with them) was a $600 daily withdrawl, or £300. But at least I had access to money if I needed it, which was the most imporant thing.

2) HSBC CAN set up a UK HSBC account for you in Canada a month before you leave (it takes about 30 days to clear) but there is a fee involved with this, though I don't remember how much it is. It's also a long process. This is mostly useful if you plan on transferring a lot of money at once. I decided not to take this route because the exchange rate at the time was terrible and I didn't mind waiting to set up a bank account in the UK (as previously mentioned by bpaul, I had to wait a month before I got proof of address). However, if you need a UK bank account straight away, you may want to try this.


Once in the UK, though, I decided to go for a Natwest bank account instead of HSBC. My reasoning was basically that it was easier to set up, my account has no fees involved, and the online savings account I opened with them has (currently) an excellent interest rate. You may want to take the time to check different banks out before you decide on one, as different banks have different services, fees and interest rates, just like back in Canada.


Good luck.

[Tigerlea]

PS ~ I forgot to mention!

HSBC DOES have an account you can open (pretty much) the day of your arrival. It's called a passport account. Unfortunately, you get no interest on the money you have in the account, and there is a £12 fee per month, so unless you are -desperate- to get a bank account, I DO NOT recommend this account. But it is there. This account, if I remember correctly, does not require proof of address and that is why you are able to open it day of arrival.

[theguillotar]

Hello,

I'm a student travelling to the UK in about two months time for an exchange. I need access to my money in the UK and I was going to open an account with HSBC. I'll be in the UK for about six months so I don't need to open an account there but I was wondering which is the best type of account to open (chequing, savings) and if I do open a regular chequing or savings account can I withdraw my money from Canada in GBP in the UK?

[Tigerlea]

If you want access to your Canadian funds in the UK, I would highly recommend you opening an HSBC account. As previously stated, though, you will have a maximum daily withdrawl of $400 (approx. £200) unless they have since changed that rule.

I would say open both a savings and a chequing account as you will be here long enough that you'll probably want interest on your money. Make sure you can access your account online, and thus transfer money between your savings and chequing accounts. The account I opened has no fees if you have $2000+ in it, and I have an online savings with HSBC because it has the best interest. The online savings you cannot access via an ABM, though, and so you should make sure you have a chequing account you can access with the debit card.


Just remember, you can withdraw funds from any UK HSBC 'hole in the wall' IN UK POUNDS (which is useful) for free, but I don't think you can take your HSBC Candian debit card to any other machines, so make sure you know where the local HSBC is.



Hope that helps a little and answers your questions.

[cj]

I recently contacted HSBC about opening an account in the UK. I wanted to open a UK bank that I could put money into now (while still living in Canada) for savings for when I arrive in the UK. HSBC told me they could arrange to open a UK account from Canada, but that it wouldn't be useable until I arrived. Second option was to open the passport account that people mentioned, unfortunately the fee is $200 CDN. Which is a pretty high fee, considering.

Does anyone know of any other banks that you can open in the UK prior to arrival? I'm just looking for something I can bi-weekly put money into that I can have when I arrive.

[Joanne]

Hi cj,

I really doubt you can open a bank account in the UK if you are still in Canada (it's to do with money laundering I think). When you open a bank account in the UK they will want documents such as:
- Passport
- Proof of residency
- Employer's name and address

[bpaul]

Thanks Tigerlea for your helpful replies -- after asking a friend (another international student) about NatWest I've decided to switch over. HSBC's 12 GBP a month fee is crazy! It has been helpful, however, to be able to withdraw from my Canadian HSBC account for no fee from the HSBC machines here in the U.K.