I moved to London a month ago from Washington, DC. I have an EU (Belgian) passport and thought that opening a bank account in the UK would be just as easy as it was in the US (took me 1 hour) or Belgium (1 hour, and I was not even a resident or citizen at the time application was made). I went to the HSBC Westminster branch because I saw that they offer tailored services for expats. The interview for opening the account lasted 2 hours, I was asked to provide copies of all my passports, details of ALL previous employers, details of all my assets abroad, and even what my bonus was last year. They said the decision on the account will be made by central office, and I will get a letter in 2 weeks informing of the decision. I received a refusal letter with no explanations of reasons. My credit record in the US and Belgium is impeccable, I was only trying to open a simple salary account with a debit card, they collected more information about me than the Belgian state has of me as its citizen, and all was a waste of time.
I went to Barclays instead next door and had an account open in 1 hour. Do not believe that HSBC is for expats in London, this was the worst service I ever got in any bank worldwide. read more