HSBC

I’ve been around the international banking block once or twice, and so I thought opening a bank account in the UK would be a fairly painless process. While not totally true, HSBC has done its best to get me local red tape and overall, Unilocalers, I’m a fan.
This Baker Street branch is usually busy, especially around lunchtime, so call ahead or pop in in the morning and set yourself an appointment if you need to do some heavy financial lifting. Otherwise, there are ATM’s aplenty.
If you go upstairs, you are in for some serious high-​touch service. My customer service manager Iman spent about 90 minutes with me to introduce me to banking in the UK: Multiple forms of ID were checked and re-​checked. I scribbled my signature on papers of various sizes. I set at least 3 passwords I will never remember and was asked tedious questions about my financial goals… but I left with all the goods I need to pay for stuff and get paid. Yay!
Even since opening my account, Iman has been helpful in an über-​personalized way that the US long ago relegated to the superrich. I’ve emailed her random international exchange questions. She reached out to tell me when I was eligible for an upgrade. She hooked me up with a contactless payment card when I asked for one, greatly reducing my coffee and Tube transaction times by seconds and delighting me each time.
An all-​around Yay!

When I had recently moved to london, i was faced with the challenge of opening a bank account. I went to plenty of hsbc and other branches but somehow this was the only branch that wanted my business. the Customer services really sat down with me to understand how we could resolve the issue. She explained the products and what would best suit me. I just wish the other branches have some more educated staff as well.