HSBC Premier’s holistic approach to meet overseas study needs

It is no secret that more and more parents are sending their kids to study abroad. Studying overseas can be a truly rewarding and transformative experience, but it’s not without challenges, and sometimes unexpected problems.

Have your children covered in case of emergency

Here is a story shared by Brian Hui, Head of Customer Propositions and Marketing, Wealth and Personal Banking, Hong Kong, HSBC.

“A parent once told me what happened to his daughter when she was studying abroad. During a long vacation, she rented a car to travel around with friends. Unfortunately, she had a traffic accident. She was fine but she had to pay a serious sum for car repairs. She immediately called her family for help, but it was Saturday afternoon, and her family couldn’t do anything until Monday. In the end, she had to borrow money from friends to settle the bill first.”

“There could have been a much better solution if they were HSBC Premier customers,” Hui says.

While thorough financial planning is important before sending kids to study abroad, providing support to your children before their departure and while they are overseas are equally important.

In the above situation, if they were HSBC Premier customers, the family could have instantly transferred money to the daughter’s overseas account through online or mobile banking for free, and she could have withdrawn the cash from an ATM nearby right away.

There could be other unexpected situations when your children need instant support, for example, theft, the laptop broke down, etc...

With HSBC Global Transfers, parents can transfer money to their children’s account instantly and their children can withdraw the money from ATM machine. The service is 24/7, which is particularly important when there is an emergency situation. Better, there is no need to worry about fees as the service is totally free for HSBC Premier customers.

"HSBC Premier offers a range of products and services to help customers plan ahead for their children’s overseas education.” Hui says.

What’s more, children will have access to USD 2,000 of emergency cash in case they encounter any unexpected needs overseas.

Comprehensive overseas education planning and support

HSBC Premier also helps families prepare for their children’s overseas study in other aspects.

Collaborating with highly credible education partners, HSBC Premier regularly organizes seminars for customers to help them better understand the application procedure, the local situation and necessary preparations before departure. There would also be exclusive consultation offers for HSBC Premier customers from time to time.

Having enough protection is equally important to put parents and their children’s minds at ease, and HSBC can provide the help, HSBC Life’s Voluntary Health Insurance Flexi Plan is a medical insurance plan designed for families seeking more extensive medical coverage while enjoying tax deduction in Hong Kong. The plan also offers flexible options with different geographical coverage.

Taking the UK as an example, the national health policy there offers rather limited coverage, which may not include consultancy with specialists, sometimes even the drug expenses are not covered.

Be a step ahead by pre-opening overseas account in Hong Kong

To be better prepared, Hui recommends parents to pre-open an overseas banking account for their children before they leave for their study to help to pay all the necessary fees that requires pre-payment, i.e. tuition fee, rent, etc..

HSBC Premier customers can open a Premier for Next Generation account for children aged 18-28 for free, which offers the same global Premier status along with bespoke banking services worldwide. With Premier for Next Generation account, their children can also pre-open overseas account for free, one of the perks is that children will be given an ATM card prior to their departure, allowing them to withdraw money overseas when they are fresh off the plane instead of carrying the money with them. They can also use the bank account the moment they step off the plane.

“Online services are being enhanced to provide even better international banking experience to our customers. Customers can open overseas account remotely without having to travel to a branch.” Hui says.

For the children, there is an additional advantage of becoming an HSBC Premier customer early, rather than waiting until they start working. By having the Premier for Next Generation account, they can enjoy the same premium banking status and service access as their parents, giving them a head start in banking with global support, which enables them to capture international opportunities easily.

Overall speaking, HSBC’s strong digital platform, comprehensive service offerings and unparalleled branch network, which covers 64 countries and territories, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, North America and Latin America provide a strong backup for students studying abroad, in everyday life or during an emergency.

The account opening process is also straightforward and speedy. Not only can new customers set up banking accounts as fast as 10 minutes via HSBC’s mobile app, existing customers can upgrade to HSBC Premier via internet banking with a few clicks. The loyalty of long-time HSBC Premier customers, especially those with children, is testimony to the value and quality of the service.

To be better prepared, parents are recommended to pre-open an overseas banking account for their children before they leave for their study.

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