# Opening Bank Account in NYC



## Els (Oct 17, 2010)

Hi all - I'm relocating to NYC in January 2011 on an L1A - I work for a big finance company.

I previously interned in the US in 2007 on a J1 and had a checking account with Citibank. I have a Social Security card already from the 2007 visit.

As I prepare for the move, perhaps you could help?

1) Bank - would you recommend me opening an HSBC USD checking account here in England before I go, or going back to Citibank when I get there? If I do the latter, would it be a chicken & egg scenario - no bank before apartment, but no apartment before bank?

Many thanks!


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## Els (Oct 17, 2010)

This is what I'm talking about:

hsbc.co.uk/1/2/business/international/business-in-usa


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Els said:


> Hi all - I'm relocating to NYC in January 2011 on an L1A - I work for a big finance company.
> 
> I previously interned in the US in 2007 on a J1 and had a checking account with Citibank. I have a Social Security card already from the 2007 visit.
> 
> ...



I'm not a great fan of HSBC.......so I'd wait till you get there.

The easiest thing to do with the fact you don't have a fixed address on the day you open it is to get the bank correspondence sent to the personal banker who opens your account for you -- then pick it up in person from the branch.


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## hutais (Jul 2, 2010)

Fatbrit said:


> I'm not a great fan of HSBC.......so I'd wait till you get there.
> 
> The easiest thing to do with the fact you don't have a fixed address on the day you open it is to get the bank correspondence sent to the personal banker who opens your account for you -- then pick it up in person from the branch.


Hi there we just moved to NYC and we are on an E3 and had no problems opening a HSBC account here. We have used our Australian address and that is fine till we get an apartment. We are in a hotel at the moment. My husband had to have an account to get paid monthly. Have had no issues at all and also have a debit Visa too.
Once we get a fixed address we will let the bank know.

Loving Manhattan too!!


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## Els (Oct 17, 2010)

Thanks Fatbrit and thanks Hutais.

I wonder if I could simply use my work address in the first instance and get correspondence sent there?


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## jim_t_wood (Nov 4, 2010)

Guys,

I'm currently a HSBC customer in the UK. Do you know if it is possible to transfer accounts over rather start from fresh? I have a credit card with them and having that as tool at the very start (We will hopefully be moving over on a H1-B in march next year) would be useful,

Jim.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

jim_t_wood said:


> Guys,
> 
> I'm currently a HSBC customer in the UK. Do you know if it is possible to transfer accounts over rather start from fresh? I have a credit card with them and having that as tool at the very start (We will hopefully be moving over on a H1-B in march next year) would be useful,
> 
> Jim.


Banking law is different enough between countries that you ultimately are going to have to open a new account, even if it's in the "same" bank. (The US HSBC is actually a different legal entity from your bank in the UK.) Having a reference from your UK banker, however, will definitely ease the path.

OTOH, you probably don't want to close either your UK account or your UK credit card. It can be next to impossible to open a new account once you've moved, and having an account "back home" can be extremely handy for trips back home, as well as for Internet purchases denominated in sterling.
Cheers,
Bev


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## nat21 (Oct 10, 2010)

Bevdeforges said:


> Banking law is different enough between countries that you ultimately are going to have to open a new account, even if it's in the "same" bank. (The US HSBC is actually a different legal entity from your bank in the UK.) Having a reference from your UK banker, however, will definitely ease the path.
> 
> OTOH, you probably don't want to close either your UK account or your UK credit card. It can be next to impossible to open a new account once you've moved, and having an account "back home" can be extremely handy for trips back home, as well as for Internet purchases denominated in sterling.
> Cheers,
> Bev


I read an article/ or saw a commercial from HSBC which stated that they are making it easy for you to an account overseas if you already have an account with them in your native country. They are supposed to make the transaction easier.

When I decided to move to the US after graduation, I opened an HSBC account in the US because it was "the world's local bank" and was thinking that it would be easier to open account in the UK. However, I had a really hard time opening an account in the UK. I couldn't understand it as I had a substantial amount of cash, an address, a student visa and a letter from my school.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

nat21 said:


> I read an article/ or saw a commercial from HSBC which stated that they are making it easy for you to an account overseas if you already have an account with them in your native country. They are supposed to make the transaction easier.
> 
> When I decided to move to the US after graduation, I opened an HSBC account in the US because it was "the world's local bank" and was thinking that it would be easier to open account in the UK. However, I had a really hard time opening an account in the UK. I couldn't understand it as I had a substantial amount of cash, an address, a student visa and a letter from my school.


I had a UK account with a bank that was bought up by HSBC. Since then I have had no trouble opening an additional account in the UK, but I don't believe that my HSBC account in the UK does anything for me as far as opening an account in the HSBC bank here in France. (Could be wrong, but since HSBC only seems to operate in Paris and I don't need an account in Paris.)

The worldwide aspects of HSBC accounts seem to come into play only when you have a "premier" account - one with a minimum balance of several thousand pounds that entitles you to the expat level of service.
Cheers,
Bev


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