Closing HSBC bank account
 

I don't anticipate to return to HKG any sooner or even forever ! Is anyone here had any experience in closing HSBC account from overseas?
Thanks in advance.

Forever?

First, take out a tax loan and rack up as much credit card debt as you can.

Second, strip your nationality details from your account and change your mailing address to Penny Bay Concentration Camp facility.

Problem solved. :ok:

The only problem with that otherwise brilliant scheme is that HSBC own a whole load of banks in other jurisdictions, and would no doubt pursue the debt, wrecking your credit score etc.
Spend or transfer out whatever is left in it, ring them and tell them you’re closing it permanently. It’s straightforward enough.

HSBC cannot chase you in your home country for money owed in Hong Kong, neither can any other bank for that matter. What they will do for sure is bankrupt you in HK. In the USA any Hong Kong bank or finance company has no right to chase you for monies owed in HK.

Not sure about savings accounts, but to close a credit card account I was told the following:

I imagine the process to close a savings account is similar, although the address might be different. If you have internet banking with HSBC you could try sending them a message through your online account and ask for the details. They normally respond within a couple of days.

Having spent months trying to open new accounts in the UK I'd suggest you hang onto as many bank accounts as you can for as long as you can.

Hang on to the HSBC account. There is no reason to close it. If you have a HSBC securities account they will charge you $25HKD/month. So what. Just use online banking to send the money outside Hong Kong whenever you need to.

Yeah....that's bull****
Other companies in your home country will buy your debt from HSBC HK and pursue you.
Ask me how I know

I know how you know.

My experience is HSBC operate due to tax laws as an independent franchise's. Still trying to get money out of an account closed due to lack of activity for 2 years, despite trying in another 4 countries they will not even call or sign the HSBC forms. World bank sure.

The old you need a bank account to buy a house that you cannot open without a house. Been there gave up.

Ask me how I know it not to be bull****.

If you log in to the app on your mobile device, any bank account can be cancelled via the ‘chat’ function, b but it has to be the chat function through the app, as that provides authentication, it will not work if you sign in via the website. Takes two minutes…

Mrs Friar wanted to close her Santander account and had moved all Direct Debits to new First Direct account. Santander refused to move her money without a meeting in a branch with two forms of ID to close the account, despite it being an online account.
once we understood it was all her money anyway, she simply wrote herself a cheque, paid all her money into her new account and left £10 in the old Santander one which earns a penny of interest a year and Santander have to send her monthly written statements.
why put up with their stupid requirements to close it when you can leave it open?

I closed my Hong Kong HSBC accounts several years ago from Canada after I left Hong Kong.

Via the messaging system in the online banking interface, I asked to close the account. They replied saying that I would have to send a written request via registered mail. The account had a residual balance of a few dollars and they suggested that I include instructions in my written request to have that balance donated to the Hong Kong Red Cross.

A week after the letter was delivered to HSBC, I could see online that the balance was donated to Red Cross. A few days after that, I no longer had online access to the account. Then a few weeks after, I received the final statement in the mail.

Well, seen as no-one made any attempt to answer the question, I'll have a go. (Edit: Except the post above!)
Perhaps like you, I wasn't aware that in March 2020, I wouldn't ever set foot in HKG again. By the time CX finally dumped me mid-2021, the battery in my HSBC security device was dead. In addition the HKG mbl number they have on file for me is also disconnected! I haven't closed my account yet, but I did call HSBC. They said I'd need to send an (old-school) letter (with signature) to them advising you want to close your account, and advise where you want the funds deposited. My plan was to deposit it into a mates account still in HKD, and get them to transfer to me. I'm just waiting to make sure I've cleared out of the IRD's office before I send HSBC a letter.
Call them up. Send them a signed letter, telling them where you want the money deposited.

Don't get mad, get even......
Like it Centurion.....🤣

I went to close my HSBC account (some time ago) and was told that I had to pay a fee to close it...

Just asked to withdraw all the balance down to zero and that was just fine. I probably still have an account with them

Transfer it all out and just ignore it.. After two years of no activity, they will close it anyway.

Back in UK I wanted to close my DXB HSBC account, I made the mistake of transferring all but a few Dirhams (no transfer fee) to my UK account 1st. There was a lot of questions about the amounts I had in the account previously and where they had come from until I ended up having to get my UK branch to sign over, in my presence, and internally post copies of the closure form . The remaining Dirhams caused a problem even after I suggested they give to charity, almost finally they posted me a cheque, in Dirhams but even now 11yrs later I get e-mails from them on general matters.

yeah but what about the monthly charges? They’d add up into the negative……..wouldn’t they chase you for that?

Who pays a monthly charge with HSBC? just downgrade to HSBC One and it's free. Cancel that Visa though.

FWIW, I closed my credit card by making an enquiry through the on-line chat function on the "Contact Us" page of the HSBC internet banking website. It was simple and the account was closed within days. I haven't yet closed my savings account, but I transferred all the funds overseas a couple of years ago and have not been charged for keeping the account open.