Hurghada - Opening a Bank Account

HSBC, Hurghada

It’s taken me some time, but I finally got round to my third task, which was to open a bank account here.

For once, I was early for my taxi driver and we made our way to the Touristic Promenade branch of the HSBC. I’d wanted to go to the one in Makadi, believing it to be closer, but the taxi driver claimed the other one would be better for opening a bank account and also nearer.

It was on the tip of my tongue to say it was a beautiful day as somehow it was just the right temperature as we sat with the wind blowing through the window, but it seemed a bit of a daft thing to say when every day is sunny. At the moment, it’s hard for me to grasp that it’s mid-November, and I feel as if I am in a limbo where it's constant summer and where no time passes at all (and then I find out that it does, which is a bit of a shock). However, to my surprise, the taxi driver commented that it was a really nice day, so it wasn’t just me and it obviously isn’t a completely stupid thing to comment on over here.

Anyway, we arrived at the bank. I had to pass through a security scanner as I went in, although with my crutches, I couldn’t see the point of it. I got a number so that I could wait my turn, even though no queue was apparent. I sat down and, with relief, realised that the announcement about which number should go to which window was being spoken in English as well as Arabic (it was good to hear the word “window” in Arabic, which is one word I have learned). This is the big advantage of living in a tourist area.

As it turned out, I didn’t need the number because I had to see a customer advisor.

 I was expecting problems opening the account because I’d read that it was no longer possible to open one with a tourist visa, and I’d heard from someone else that you had to have £1k and I didn’t have that in EGP. Nevertheless, I was there to try my best.

The customer advisor was a young woman who spoke very good English and was very pleasant (a credit to HSBC). We went through some formalities about why I needed the account and I decided to describe myself as retired, but stumbled a bit when she asked me about my monthly pension. I explained I would just be transferring money through and I had to stipulate an amount. I’m crossing my fingers that they won’t hold me to this, as my plan is actually to transfer yearly in the hope of saving on transfer fees and currency exchange costs.

We then moved to another table and for some reason I had to provide a UK address. I explained that I lived here now and no longer had any other address, but she said she needed one and told me to put down the address of a friend. It took me a while to think of an address I could remember in the UK, reminding me that my parents were dead and that my UK connections were getting ever flimsier. I explained that the address I was giving wasn’t actually connected to me in any records in any way, but she claimed this didn’t matter. Very strange!

She also wanted my mobile number here in Egypt and the UK. I’d forgotten to bring my mobile number with me, so I had to phone her so that she could read it out to me (but, please note, I did have my phone with me!). I also gave her my Swiss work mobile number and figured she would never know any better.

Then came the request for EGP 10,000. I explained I didn’t have it in cash, so she said I could withdraw it from the machine. I looked at her in astonishment and asked if that was allowed. She didn’t see a problem. I was pretty sure my bank only allowed me to take out £250 (2500 EGP) per day.

I went to the machine and it allowed a maximum withdrawal of 6000 EGP, so I tried that, thinking that maybe I could do two withdrawals. However, it refused to let me withdraw the maximum. I tried my savings rather than my current account, and was again refused, but I was certain I had the money in both accounts.

I lowered the amount to the equivalent of £250 allowed by my bank and that went through fine. When I tried it a second time, it failed. This, too, was consistent with my understanding of my bank’s allowance (I guess it is a safety measure), but found it ironic that the rich West won’t let you take out as much money as is allowed in Egypt (where most people probably don’t even have that much).

In the end, we agreed that I would transfer the money electronically, but I would have to pay a fee of EGP 40 for not starting with the minimum amount. Actually, I was shocked at all the charges – I will pay more for this account than in the UK or Switzerland, so I guess only the wealthier Egyptians must have a bank account (or they get a different offer altogether, which is also possible). I have to pay for my statements at EGP 15 per quarter, EGP 40 for my debit card annually, EGP 40 each month my account falls below £1k, charges if I withdraw money from anywhere that’s not HSBC…

My card will be posted to me so I will be interested to see how that arrives (do they send it by courier or does it come through the normal post, do the statements come by courier?).

I actually went back home wondering if it was really worthwhile having an account if all those charges apply, but I guess if I take money out just as I need it using my UK card, the charges will mount up (it’s just that I don’t see them). And if I need to pay bills etc, it will also be easier with the Egyptian bank account. I will be interested to see how far my money goes.