Question about opening bank accounts/transferring money when studying abroad

Hi,

I guess this is a question for those who have studied abroad in the past or are currently exchanging at an overseas university. How did you manage your finances during the year abroad. Basically, I have applied to study abroad at the University of Hong Kong on an exchange year from Sept and would like to know what is the best way of transferring money overseas.

Although I plan to set up a bank account during my year abroad, one of my concerns is the money banks charge when transferring money from one account to another account in another country. It probably isn't avoidable, but I wanted to know if there is an effective way that reduces these transaction costs?

Reply 1

zero_gravity

Original post by hct1802

Hi there!

If, by any chance, you have a HSBC account in the UK, that would give you a major advantage. Considering that HSBC is one of the major banks in Hong Kong, you will have easy access to their ATMs and if I'm not mistaken, you will not face any transaction fees if you take money from their bank machines with a HSBC card. However, using HSBC can be really expensive, especially since you'll have to open an account in the UK and they might charge you annual fees for your account.

If you do not have a HSBC account and you don't want to open one before going to Hong Kong, I think HKU will offer you an opportunity to sign up for a bank account with special offers during orientation week. You can ask them about wire transfer fees and compare and see which bank offers the lowest transaction fees.

If you don't want the hassle of applying for a bank account at all, you can always use your debit card or credit card to take out money from ATMs in Hong Kong. If you can find an ATM that is affiliated with your bank, that would help reduce transaction fees.

Hope this helps!

Reply 2

Mike Hunt is nice