With my internet banking, I can only transfer money to other banks in the UK.
I was wondering whether this was the case in other countries or are they a bit more joined up e.g.. USA can transfer online to Canada, or Denmark to Finland for example?
I have accounts with HSBC in three countries, Jersey, Hong Kong and the Philippines, and all of them allow international transfers via internet banking. The UK is the only place I am aware of where they don't allow it. I'm not sure why that is.
Chris
It is because of the risk that phishing poses. Preventing international transfers makes it a bit more difficult for them to get the money out of your account.
Indeed, but if HSBC consider the risk too great to allow such a facility in one country, why would they consider it safe to do it everywhere else?
Chris
But that might be something specific to HSBC and other internet banks don't do it.
I have more than one UK internet bank account and none of them allow it.
Are you sure that all other countries allow it? So are you saying that an account in USA or Austria for example could just transfer money with SWIFT through to another country like Greece or Mexico?
No. I didn't say *all* other countries allow it. I said that in the three countries where I have accounts with them, HSBC allow international transfers via internet banking.
No, I'm not. I said only what I said.
Chris
It feels to me as if overseas accounts allow overseas transfers if you see what I mean. I.e. if I open an account somewhere other than in the UK (I live in the UK) then that account allows international transfers.
I think it's more because accounts opened overseas tend to be targetted at 'high earners' and so offer extra facilities.
I'm not sure what you meant by "accounts opened overseas". I think we're comparing what banks in the UK allow with what their regular counterparts in other countries allow. The accounts that I have in Asia are just normal accounts that any local person would have, they're not particularly aimed at high earners.
Chris
Yes, that is what I was wondering - I assumed that the bog-standard account opened in USA or Japan or wherever would not allow international transactions to be made from an Internet bank.
In case I wasn't clear, what I was saying is that my bog-standard accounts in a couple of countries in Asia does allow it.
I've also had a look at my account with Bangkok Bank in Thailand, and that too allows international transfers to be made from their internet banking system. You do have to sign and hand in a printed form before they will enable that option on the account though.
Chris
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