[peter74]

Hello readers,

I moved to Hong Kong about 8 months ago and have been working fulltime for around 5 months (I have a permanent contract/ HKID card/ apartment lease) - I earn around 25K per month.

I bank with Citibank (for the last 4 months) I recently applied for a standard Visa card and it got rejected. I do not understand why and the people at the bank are no help. I do not have any other credit cards or outstanding loans in Hong Kong.

Are there credit agencies where I can find out what the problem is?
Has anybody else had the same problem?

Cheers, Pete.

[KnowItAll]

Best bets are to walk into the bank where you opened your account and talk to the manager.

There are several issues which come into play.

1) Do you have a credit card from your previous country?

2) How long is your contract for?

3) What country are you from?

There have been issues with people on short contracts, from many asian countries particularly where the folks charge up their cards right before leaving town.

On the other hand .. why would you want to bank with Citi? They're pretty useless for personal banking.

[kostas]

Some banks require a permanent residency, such as Hang Seng. I got mine through HSBC with just 3 months of employment though but that was 4 years ago.

[peter74]

Thanks - I am British & I don't have credit cards from other countries.
You are right Citibank is useless, I opened with them as I was led to believe that it was the only bank to open accounts for non-HKID holder. (which I was at the time).

Pete.

[peter74]

BTW - I have a full time / permanent contract with a large multinational.
I was offered more credit when I was a student.

My basic is 25K, with commission I make on average 50K per month.

Pete.

[KnowItAll]

Then you're with the wrong bank.

[kombuchakid]

walk into a smallish HSBC and chat to the manager about a plain vanilla Mastercard. You should have the plastic by first week of March with a 100k limit. Should help if your salary is autopaid into your HSBC account

[peter74]

Thanks for your help - could I just open an HSBC account then autopay my salary at the end of this month?

Is there a minimum amount to open an account at HSBC?

[kostas]

Yeah, shouldn't be any problem. You could use the same account to autopay your credit card bills too. Minimum amount is $5K. And you can have full access to their online banking service

http://www.hsbc.com.hk/hk/personal/i...it/savings.htm

[peter74]

Thanks for your help - account opened at HSBC & Credit Card on its way.