Saving is always a good exercise, and with that a bank account. There are plenty of big banks here in Hong Kong. HSBC, Standard Charter, Citibank and Bank of China are some of the biggest bank here.
I opted to open an account with HSBC to have access to their 12-in-1 currency and investment account, called HSBC One. Imagine, only one account, but you can deposit at different currency like USD, CNY, JPY, etc. That would also mean, you can withdraw funds at those notes when traveling in other countries.
Here's a run down on the requirements so you can also open your account.
Documents
HK Identification Card (HKID)
Passport
Proof of Billing - as recent as last 6 months
Fund
There's no minimum to open an account. You can open for as low as 10HKD.
Age
Adults, those above 18, can open a 12-in-1 account. This comes with an ATM. You may also add a check, if you wish.
Minors, those below 18, can open a kiddie account but should be accompanied by their parent or guardian. The account doesn't have access to other currency, only HK dollar. Also, no investment instrument.
Best to open a kiddie account together with your main account, if you're planning to get them started in financial literacy early on. Remember, no minimum amount!
Interest Rate
Interest rate for a deposit account is really small at 0.001% APR. Your money would earn interest when it reaches a daily maintaining balance of 5,000HKD.
Anyways, the interest here is not your goal in openning a bank account, unlike in the Philippines. Here, people open bank accounts to build up a good credit standing with the bank and for convenience. Banks won't offer you credit and loan instruments if you don't have a bank account. Also, government subsidies are routed via banks.
Miscellaneous
One thing to bear in mind, opening an account takes a bit of time, about 1.5hrs to 2hrs for 3 persons! But, you'll get your ATM the same day and get to set-up your online account as well. So, do give time for it. Do not go to the bank with just less than an hour to spare. They would probably ask you to return the next banking day instead.
Take time to find the branch where you can open an account. Branches in Hong Kong are not all the same. A tragedy I found out that led me to 2 failed attempts of opening an account!
The are business branches, premier branches, overnight banking branch and a regular deposit account.
Business branch is self explanatory. Premier branches are for those with 1,000,000 HKD to open their account. Overnight banking are mostly for inquiries and check deposits. Look for a regular deposit account, approach their customer assistant and start your account opening.
Good luck!
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