HSBC bank? (Fort Worth, Center, Wells: foreclosed, mortgage, credit)

[Tigerlily64]

Can anyone tell me if there are any HSBC banks in the Fort Worth area please? Husband banks with them in the UK and has just opened an international account with them for our move but says he now has read somewhere that they are not a well known bank in the Texas area and there are no branches or ATM's for them there?

[loves2read]

Google maps works wonders for questions like this
plot it anywhere you want to search and just enter the name of what you are looking for...
doing that brought up this site--after looking around the HSBC site itself--does not look like local branch in FTW
http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/!ut/p/c1/...zX19fXzgvc2Eu/

but when I just Google HSBC fort worth tx--
I got this list of CREDIT UNIONS sites--

http://www.hsbccreditcenter.com/learn/locations/TX.html

credit unions operate under different rules/oversight somewhat than banks
but then I found THIS page on the credit union web site
https://www.hsbccreditcenter.com/lea...e/default.html

There are no mortgage centers and no financial advisory offices in TX--
so I think you can keep your bank in the UK and do online banking here via ATMs that are linked to HSBC--and you might pay a fee--
you probably would have difficulty getting check cashed that was on UK bank however

[Tigerlily64]

Loves2read, thank you very much for going to all this trouble to help out! It seems then it really is primarily an online bank for basic requirements but I guess so long as he can withdraw cash from ATMs and transfer money around online it will do to start with. The US banking system appears to be generally quite different from what we are accustomed to in the UK but we'll get the hang of it when we are physically there I hope! Thanks again for your efforts - appreciated.

[loves2read]

he should ask about the fees for those ATM transactions--they could be pretty steep

banking here is just like fast food--there is one on every corner and sometimes two
lots of banks to choose from

we used to bank with BoA but it has been such a slime organization with how it has handled foreclosed homes that we are moving our money/personal and business/to Frost--
that is long-time Texas local bank
just our preference

[expatChicagoan]

You'll definitely want to investigate the ATM fees. My parents visited Texas (from Australia) over the Christmas holiday. They used BofA ATMs because they didn't charge a fee (all the other banks did); even though BofA didn't charge a fee, their own bank in Australia charged them $12 every time they used an ATM. Those fees add up.

I moved to the US from Australia 18 years ago, and the differences in banking was one of the biggest disappointments when I first moved. I highly recommend that you find a local bank; if you need to keep your HSBC account (for payroll or whatever), I would transfer out funds to the other account on a fortnightly or monthly basis, so that you're not going to get hit with "hidden" fees.

[Tigerlily64]

Thanks, yes we have noticed that the US still seem to charge for so many of the standard type transactions which are free in the UK. I haven't been into a branch of my bank in years, nor telephoned them - I do everything online myself and set up all household bills on variable direct debit etc. I have neither sent nor received a paper cheque in a long, long time so I think it will take some getting used to a new system.

It is because of my job, not my husband's, that we are relocating (he's looking forward to being a kept man for a while ;-) . I have already set up a Wells Fargo account for my salary deposits and for using for our utilities bills and everyday living. The international HSBC account my husband set up was because when we need to transfer money to and from the UK, the HSBC have preferential exchange rates and reduced transfer fees for customers who have both a UK account and a foreign one. Wells Fargo would charge me a higher fee and standard exchange and then my UK bank would also charge me a transaction fee for an international wire so our idea was that I would transfer money from WF into his US HSBC account and he could then wire between the HSBC accounts cutting down on the fees. He will also use the HSBC as his personal account for cash (hence the question about ATMs) but I guess if he gets charged for using other banks' ATMs he'll have to take out a reasonable amount at a time and not just a few dollars each time to cut down the number of times he needs to use them.

I guess we'll get used to it and how to best do things eventually! Thanks again for all the useful advice.

[loves2read]

I guess you need to decide how often you will transfer money to/from the UK then--and definitely find out about the ATM fees--
check with HSBC UK and see which ATMs here would have the best rates--maybe to keep his account they would refund any fees--

sounds like what you have done with Wells Fargo will cover most of the financial need you have here

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

There arent really any HSBC's in the US. There are none in Texas. I think they are only in LA, New York, and San Francisco.

HSBC does have a Credit Center in Fort Worth. But I dont think thats what youre looking for.