Job Discussion Forums

[waxwing]

Is it possible to walk into a bank in Hong Kong and wire transfer money to my home account in the UK?

Note: I live and work in Guangzhou, so I don't have a Hong Kong bank account nor any Hong Kong documentation, just my passport with my Chinese residence permit.

The amount is about $6000 US, if that matters, which I'll pre-convert to dollars.

Thank you very much if you can help me with this awful stuff. I have read the forums in detail and am aware of the options. I can't use Western Union and although I probably can do this in Guangzhou somehow, it seems tortuous and unpredictable. I'm hoping there is a more straightforward option in Hong Kong.

[Joachim]

Not sure, you may run into problems. However, there are Western Union branches all over the territory (the ones at the Star Ferry terminals are probably the easiest to find) from where you can transfer cash to anyone, anywhere within about ten minutes.

Although you will have to send it to a person, not an account.

[waxwing]

As I said, I'm aware of that, and that's not possible for me.
Thanks anyway.

[Roger]

You will probably need a bank account, and I can assure you that this is not always as easy and straitforward as it used to be; HSBC for example demand that you come up with a recommendation from one of their clients and a track record from another bank.

I joined HSBC - after an absence of several years due to getting virtually interest I bailed out but returned for obvious reasons, based as I am in the mainland!
It's not exactly a blessing to be readmitted! The bank now charges all manner of fees, for instance, I faced paying a fee for depositing more than a certain limit (I think it was at that time 20'000 HK dollars); if your foreign currency account records no transaction for more than 180 days you owe them another fee etc.

You can always try Western Union for a one-off service!

[once again]

You can buy a cheque in a foriegn currency and post it. I have done this many times. I send sterling cheques to the Uk, bought in HK dollars, on a regular basis. If you have an account with the bank it costs about $50 HK...if not it costs around $100 to $200 HK. Not sure about the currency restrictions though. I have sent at the most $1000 US..but i am told (although not sure of this) that the restrictions are not so strict. Worth looking into anyway. But there seems no reason that you could not send several cheques if the amount is restricted. The cheques are easy to cancel should anything go wrong, but they can be made crossed and so are reasonably safe.

[Everest]

Whatever you do, don't use WU to wire dough to the mainland. I speak from bitter, bitter experience. The WU man in his booth at Chungking Mansions will accept your money with a smart salute and with a few efficient bangs on his keyboard zap it to China. What happens thereafter is the stuff of high farce.

I recently had money wired from Ireland as a birthday present and with passport and transfer number in hand presented myself at the WU desk in Huizhou City, Guangdong to collect it. Had I requested a bizarre sexual favour involving poultry, the expression of the man behind the counter could not have been more bereft of comprehension.

The transaction was refused because although everything else was in order, my father had neglected to use my middle name, rendering the transaction 'redundant' in mainland law. In other words if you're friend, sister, mother, or significant other wires dough to you in China and you're full name is Jonathan Pilkington Swine Necrosis Hullabaloo Deviance Alderton McGregor, that is exactly to whom the money must be sent. Otherwise you will have to leave the building in tears and set fire to yourself outside in protest.

Then there are the language problems, the general stupidity and the fact that few mainlanders (even those charged with administering the service) really know WU works. For the love of God, don't do it. There are less complex ways, I promise you: Hiring a hot-air balloon and smuggling it in from altitude, to suggest but one.

E.