TransferWise and HSBC (US)

[Ratsima]

I had been using an HSBC account in the US to transfer funds to Bangkok Bank's New York branch until the bank stopped accepting them. Then I switched to TransferWise. They would do a direct debit from the HSBC account and then deposit into my local Bangkok Bank account. Worked fine. Note that I do not use income to extend my stay in Thailand.

Then I read that HSBC US would soon be offering real time (instant) transfers for free meaning that I could transfer from HSBC to my TransferWise account instantly and at no cost to me.

So, I set it up with HSBC. They made two trial deposits to TransferWise which showed up immediately. I confirmed the amounts with HSBC and they activated the TransferWise account (Community Federal Savings Bank) and it showed up on the list of banks available for interbank transfers.

This morning I logged on the HSBC to make my first transfer and the TransferWise account was no longer there. I had a chat with an HSBC rep who said that TransferWise refused to send the trail deposits back to HSBC so HSBC suspended the account. I guess that 68¢ was pretty important to HSBC.

Anyone else run in to this problem?

[sateeb]

Can't answer your question really. I simply transfer the amount I want to send from my UK Halifax a/c to Transferwise(no cost to me). Then Transferwise send the cash direct to my Bangkok Bank branch in Hua Hin minus their(TW) charge, depends upon the amount sent.

[Ratsima]

Well, that's exactly what I wanted to do. Send from HSBC to TransferWise at no cost to me. Unfortunately, HSBC mucked it up. I also have an account with Axos Bank in the US, but they don't do bank-to-bank transfers.

[sateeb]

Doesn't help you, but I have a friend who also has an HSBC account in Hong Kong, he has come across the same problem, and a myriad of others with absolutely no help from customer services. It seems that they have no problem laundering billions in illicit trades but the customer gets sweet FA.

[Ratsima]

In this case it seems to be the fault of TransferWise for failing to return the trial deposits. To their credit, HSBC customer support was very responsive and diagnosed the problem in a matter of minutes. There's really nothing they can do about it. The purpose of the trial deposits is so that HSBC can verify that the transfer works in both directions. I see no reason why TransferWise wouldn't play the game and send the 68¢ back.

[J.J.B.]

TransferWise charges for every transfer they make, perhaps the charge on 68 cents is below their ability to make a charge? Send them a message and ask, they usually respond within 24 hours. I transfer funds from UK banks to my TW account and it’s instant, but that’s because of the UK’s ‘Faster Payments’ service, which is designed to be instant.

Presumably, if HSBC were more competitive, you wouldn’t be using TransferWise anyway, I can’t see them going out of their way to help you.

[Ratsima]

I have sent a message to TransferWise. I'll report back here when I get a reply.

I can't be the first person to have tried to set up a HSBC(US)/TransferWise interbank transfer. TransferWise should not have been surprised by the trial deposit routine. I've done this several times in the past with other banks such as Axos and American Express Bank. TransferWise is the first failure. (However, I must admit that it was unbelievably difficult to get the exact trial deposit amounts from Bangkok Bank's New York branch.)

And, yeah, the US is woefully behind when it comes to moving money between banks. It's so easy to move money here in Thailand with just an account number, phone number or QR code.

[Ratsima]

It turns out that TransferWise has no mechanism in place allowing them to return the trial deposits to HSBC. In other words, it is impossible to directly transfer funds from HSBC to TransferWise. The only way to do it is by bank debit. For a bank debit of US$8000 TransferWise charges US$28.

[Ratsima]

I tried AmEx Bank. They also verified the TransferWise account with two small trial deposits. However, they do not use direct debit to get the trial deposits back. So, I was able to transfer funds from my AmEx account to TransferWise.

Bye bye HSBC.