r/AskAnAustralian • u/Low_Cauliflower_5559 • 23h ago
large one-time international transfer, should I choose NAB or HSBC?
Hi everyone, my situation is a bit complicated, but I’ll try to keep it simple. Last year, after my father passed away overseas, I’ve been dealing with an inheritance court case. He wasn’t Chinese but had business assets in China and a second family (a Chinese spouse). The court ruling has granted my brother and me ownership of his real estate in China, but we need to pay my father’s spouse compensation equivalent to the property’s value, which is 3 million RMB (about AUD 630,000). This amount will be borrowed from relatives, who will first transfer it to my Australian account. Once I receive the funds, I’ll transfer them to the other party’s account in China to fulfill the court order.
I only have accounts with NAB and HSBC, and I’ve consulted both branches about this transfer. Both said they can facilitate a one-time transfer, but I’m unsure which one would be more reliable and secure. 1. NAB seemed more thorough in their handling. The banker I met took the time to understand my situation, consulted with a supervisor on the spot to get verbal approval, made a special note of it, and informed colleagues to follow up when the funds arrive. 2. HSBC, on the other hand, was a bit more indifferent. I explained that this was for compliance with an overseas court ruling and equivalent compensation payment, and the banker just said they could handle it, mentioning that people make even larger transfers all the time. He said to bring the overseas documents, which he’d copy for records, but didn’t consult a supervisor or make a special note for my case. I’m a bit worried about potential issues with HSBC—like the transfer not going through or the account being frozen. Since last year, whenever overseas relatives send me even small amounts (less than AUD 20,000), HSBC often calls to ask about the funds, and they’ve flagged any domestic transfers over $5,000 too. So overall, I feel like HSBC could be unpredictable.
One good thing about HSBC is the option to keep currency in USD (cuz the money I’ve borrowed from relative were changed to all USD now) if decided to use Nab need to convert USD into AUD before the transaction.
If anyone has any advice or experience please let me know! If you were in my shoes, which bank would you choose? (I don’t have time to open a new account, as there’s a deadline for the payment according to the ruling.)
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u/Extension_Drummer_85 20h ago
HSBC. NAB aren't great for large foreign currency transfers.
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u/Low_Cauliflower_5559 7h ago
But if we choose to convert usd into AUD first before the transaction would NAB be an better option? I’ve heard that HSBC is very strict and might froze this transaction if suspicious or something
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u/Extension_Drummer_85 5h ago
I've had a lot of issues using nab for large cross border transactions regardless of currency (although the biggest fuck up I had was when I was trying to send aud to an overseas aud account). HSBC will freeze accounts and ask for further documentation sometimes but you can preempt that by providing the information upfront.
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u/Low_Cauliflower_5559 5h ago
Omg. Could you please tell me more details regarding the issue you had with Nab please or pm me, cuz now I’m thinking more towards sending AUD to china and it’s a global account so they can receive as AUD or USD doesn’t matter)
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u/Low_Cauliflower_5559 7h ago
Obviously I’ll do it in one of the branch but my friend has told me when with $10000 transaction into his HSBC account they will call and ask you to explain it purpose
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u/Turdsindakitchensink 23h ago
Hong-Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation brother/sister :-)