# HSBC Northern Ireland



## Happy Girl (17 May 2011)

Considering all the good advice on this site I decided to open an account with HSBC. I have found them totally useless if anything ridiculous. Having called their main office the girls I spoke to insisted that they do not have any branches in northern ireland. Having insisted that they DID have she double checked but still couldnt find them. Eventually having held for 8minutes the phone went dead. Now this doesnt instil great confidence in lodging my hard earned cash with them. Any other experiences?


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## Guest105 (17 May 2011)

here is a link to their bank locations in the North, maybe you will have better luck contacting them yourself.


[broken link removed]


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## bemmi (17 May 2011)

I contacted them via their main website and was told they have no account offerings for non-residents.  Would be very interested to hear if you find otherwise...


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## LouthLass (17 May 2011)

I have an account with HSBC and to date I have had no problems with them.  I find their on-line banking much more user friendly than AIB and it is very easy to manage my sterling on-line.  I have deposited cash in their branch in Craigavon.  This branch do not have cashier counters but have ATM machines inside the foyer that allow you to lodge money/cheques.  My only gripe with this is that it is not available outside of banking hours, just a regular ATM outside the building.  The branch I used to use in Liverpool allowed you to lodge money outside banking hours which was very useful, saved having to take a day off work to use it.

The branch address for Craigavon is:

52 - 56 Meadow Lane
Portadown
Craigavon
Armagh
BT62 3NJ

Phone number: 08457 404404 - obviously if calling from Ireland use the prefix 0044.

Hope this helps

LL


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## farmerette (18 May 2011)

LouthLass said:


> I have an account with HSBC and to date I have had no problems with them. I find their on-line banking much more user friendly than AIB and it is very easy to manage my sterling on-line. I have deposited cash in their branch in Craigavon. This branch do not have cashier counters but have ATM machines inside the foyer that allow you to lodge money/cheques. My only gripe with this is that it is not available outside of banking hours, just a regular ATM outside the building. The branch I used to use in Liverpool allowed you to lodge money outside banking hours which was very useful, saved having to take a day off work to use it.
> 
> The branch address for Craigavon is:
> 
> ...


 
are you serious ? , you find HSBC online service user friendly , why its completley useless , it offers nothing , you cant make a foreign transaction , if you open an account other than sterling , you cant even check the balance on line ,  its not even easy to navigate 

as for the phone number you listed , thats not the number for the branch in portadown , the fact of the matter is hsbc dont give out branch numbers , the number you provide will eventually put you through to an outsourced customer service in india , Q , having to wait at least ten mins to speak to anyone and a further ten for that person to put you in touch with someone who has a clue , HSBC customer service is awfull , thier monthly account feese are nothing short of robbery and this is a warning to anyone who is considering setting up an account with them , never ever use HSBC to make a currency transfer , i lost a small fortune last november when i transfered 50 k from bank of ireland , i chose to let HSBC do the FOREX , big mistake , on the day in question the euro was worth 85 pence sterling on the market , bank of ireland were offering 83 pence , what do you think HSBC were giving for your euro 79 PENCE , i only keep an account with them as a life boat incase of an impending meltdown here , they are the biggest crowd of sharks i have ever encountered


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## Happy Girl (18 May 2011)

Tried 08457 404404 & got through to a different guy. He hadnt a clue either & any question I asked him he asked me to hold & he would check it out for me. He was unable to still get amswers for me and said he would ring me later. He DID ring later to tell me he still hadnt found the information out and would ring me tomorrow. I felt as if I was the only person who had ever rang with this query.
The more I deal with them the less confident I am in opening an account with them.


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## farmerette (18 May 2011)

Happy Girl said:


> Tried 08457 404404 & got through to a different guy. He hadnt a clue either & any question I asked him he asked me to hold & he would check it out for me. He was unable to still get amswers for me and said he would ring me later. He DID ring later to tell me he still hadnt found the information out and would ring me tomorrow. I felt as if I was the only person who had ever rang with this query.
> The more I deal with them the less confident I am in opening an account with them.


 
they do provide a very broad range of options when it comes to international currency accounts but as i said earlier , the only currency you can even check online is the sterling one which is mandatory , even you keep all your money in a euro account with hsbc , you have to keep a small amount in a sterling account too , you end up paying maintanence fees on two accounts which costs at least 12 pound per month , the interest rates on savings are also pittifull , perhaps you should try lyodds , barclays dont seem much better than hsbc in terms of customer service via the phone


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## bemmi (18 May 2011)

actually i've had pretty good customer service over the phone from barclays wealth international - interest rate sucks though!


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## dec1892 (20 May 2011)

Hi Bemmi - cana resident of the Republic open up a euro account with Barclays in NI do you know? Does it require driving up there to open the account? Thanks


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## Slim (20 May 2011)

I approached HSBC in Belfast and they said they would only open a non resident sterling account for lodgements over £15,000. I didn't bother in the end. Opened accounts with Ulster Bank and Halifax in NI. Slim


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## L0llip0p (23 May 2011)

Having spoken and received advice from a financial advisor regarding protection of savings etc, the quickest option seems to be to open a EURO account with HSBC in NI.

There are a few branches (Derry, Belfast) but you'll need to travel up with the various bits n' bobs for opening an account. Interest rate is pitiful .1% and charges roughly €60 per annum (more if you take and use a debit card).

But if your focus is on wealth preservation versus growth, then its an option. My understanding in the worse-case scenario (i.e. Euro disbands and punt returns), HSBC Euros would become DM whereas Barclays Euros account would be in Isle of Man so I'm not sure what would happen there.

I'm going to NI in a week or 2 to do this. I'll post back up when its done but it certainly can be done if you walk in and open the account in person.


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## farmerette (23 May 2011)

L0llip0p said:


> Having spoken and received advice from a financial advisor regarding protection of savings etc, the quickest option seems to be to open a EURO account with HSBC in NI.
> 
> There are a few branches (Derry, Belfast) but you'll need to travel up with the various bits n' bobs for opening an account. Interest rate is pitiful .1% and charges roughly €60 per annum (more if you take and use a debit card).
> 
> ...


 

their are two hsbc branches in northern ireland , one in belfast , the other in portadown - cragiavon 

ps , where did you hear that hsbc euros would become DM ?


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## dec1892 (23 May 2011)

There is a barclays London account as opposed to the iom account-why would a euro Account with them revert back to punts,but not a hsbc NI account??


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## L0llip0p (24 May 2011)

Hi,

I guess you could say its a "punt" (excuse the pun) on what will happen in worst case scenario since UK banks don't hold Euros. 

Now Barclays and HSBC do offer offshore banking which would be a different product to just setting up a Euro account. I've asked HSBC to confirm (though I doubt I'll ever receive any confirmtion) on what would happen these Euros in worst case scenario.

My advisor reckons/guesses, if cards all came crashing down, its quite probable that the Euros in the HSBC case would be in Frankfurt thus a conversion to DM. 

Barclays Euro accounts Isle of Man but the question remains in the Isle of Man scenario, who knows what would happen there if Euro crumbled?


     Quote:
                                                                      Originally Posted by *hand_m* http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=1116267#post1116267 
_What is likely to happen to Euro deposit accounts in Northern Ireland if.:
1. Ireland leaves the Euro and goes to an Punt Nua.?
2. The Euro itself breaks up.?_

It depends on where the Euro is actually held. 

Normally, a UK bank does not hold Euro in the UK, even if they offer a Euro account. 

The UK bank holds Euro via a sub custodian or via an agent or via another bank that is based somewhere inside the Euro Zone. 

The bank should be able to tell them who their bank is inside the Euro Zone and where they are based.


For the record, I'm not a money expert. Just a nervous punter who doesnt want to stand idly by wishing I'd done something (anything!) if worst scenario comes.


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