Opening a bank account in Mauritius

Hi Strawbs,

I would recommend that you open a new HSBC or MCB Dollar account locally. Do note for transactions locally you will need Rupees. ( except maybe in some shopping centres in the Tourist zones)

Secondly, while converting it from Dollars to Sterling, and back to Rupee or other way around, you will be charged a fee and transaction cost (not to mention FX conversion rates are not always favourable.)

Thirdly, I am not sure how much you will be able to use your HSBC UK account for transactions ( such as direct debit on phone bills, rent, Cable etc).
So, you are not overcomplicating it, makes sense to open a Dollar account here with HSBC or MCB ( they are the largest and possibly most used bank in Mauritius ).

While getting paid in dollar can be a norm, do note that you might be affected by the Strengthening Mauritian Rupee as the dollar weakens globally (its down almost 10% against the Mauritian Rupee this year).

Hope this helps!
Musheer

Thanks Musheer, thats really useful to know. I guess we just don't know what way the markets are going to go. I might be rich or I might be poor lol!

Last question!...

Should I wait until I arrive to open the account or is there a way of doing it in advance?

I am sure you would be overall enriched here, monetarily or otherwise

As for getting an account, it hardly takes a few minutes if you have your documents. I think documents required would be Passport, Visa and Work/residence Permits, Address Proof and employment contract.
If you are already in possession of these, I would suggest you contact your local HSBC branch and ask if they will set it up for you. If not, do it once you are here.

HSBC in Mauritius is quite good.  The Grand Bay branch manager and staff are in fact very good.  I have also heard good things from people regarding MCB.  MCB probably has more branches / ATMs on the island than any other bank which is convenient.

You can open accounts at HSBC in Mauritius in just about any currency.  You will need a MUR account, but you can also have USD, GBP, AUD, ZAR, etc.  You do not necessarily have to open a current account and have a cheque book though.  I never had a cheque book issued when I open my accounts and have never had a need to actually write a cheque in my three years living in Mauritius.  In all honesty, I do not think I have written a cheque for personal reasons in about 10 years or so.

The only downside with HSBC in Mauritius is that they do not offer debit cards and only have ATM cards.  You can get a credit card though with HSBC, but as with every other bank on the island, you will have to put down at least a 100% security deposit as an expat.

I would avoid Barclays in Mauritius like the plague.  Worst experiences I have ever had with a bank in any of the four previous countries I have lived/worked.  I even have a bank account with Barclays in the UK which I am relatively pleased with the customer service so first opened an account with them in Mauritius.  In Mauritius, however, they are very poor on both the personal and corporate banking side and I have not found anyone that has anything good to say about the bank on the island.

In addition to the documents Musheer mentioned, be sure to also bring with you a bank reference letter from your bank in the UK as well.

Strawb wrote:

Good morning all,


I'm moving over to Mauritius in June and my company are going to be paying me in USD which seems to be the norm. But I have never lived abroad and I'm not sure how it all works. I am with HSBC.

Is it a good idea to open a local bank account when I arrive in Mauritius? I assume that because my HSBC account is based in the UK it would be converted to sterling, whereas if I open a Mauritian local HSBC account it would be paid in dollars.

Does this matter, or am I overcomplicating the issue?

thx, Strawbs

Does not matter HSBC or Barclays Bank can provide excellent service to you and you will be able to have accound in USD and Rupees as well.
Don't worry.
Rgds
G

Hello,

For a regular current account for basic transactions within Mauritius, what would be better: MCB or HSBC?

I went to HSBC because, as you said, the customer service was great. However they want to charge me a monthly fee in order to have some basic services. I also saw many more MCB ATMs over the island, so I am leaning towards MCB right now. Would anyone help me out?

Many thanks for the insight!

Felipe

bunkoma wrote:

HSBC in Mauritius is quite good.  The Grand Bay branch manager and staff are in fact very good.  I have also heard good things from people regarding MCB.  MCB probably has more branches / ATMs on the island than any other bank which is convenient.

You can open accounts at HSBC in Mauritius in just about any currency.  You will need a MUR account, but you can also have USD, GBP, AUD, ZAR, etc.  You do not necessarily have to open a current account and have a cheque book though.  I never had a cheque book issued when I open my accounts and have never had a need to actually write a cheque in my three years living in Mauritius.  In all honesty, I do not think I have written a cheque for personal reasons in about 10 years or so.

The only downside with HSBC in Mauritius is that they do not offer debit cards and only have ATM cards.  You can get a credit card though with HSBC, but as with every other bank on the island, you will have to put down at least a 100% security deposit as an expat.

I would avoid Barclays in Mauritius like the plague.  Worst experiences I have ever had with a bank in any of the four previous countries I have lived/worked.  I even have a bank account with Barclays in the UK which I am relatively pleased with the customer service so first opened an account with them in Mauritius.  In Mauritius, however, they are very poor on both the personal and corporate banking side and I have not found anyone that has anything good to say about the bank on the island.

In addition to the documents Musheer mentioned, be sure to also bring with you a bank reference letter from your bank in the UK as well.

MCB is good, Go for it Franco.

We also have bank accounts with MCB and quite happy with them.
They also issue debit cards which is handy.

Many thanks for the insights!

Here's my two pence worth:

HSBC is good but expensive.  They are premium banks. If you can afford, you have an excellent service.
Barclays: crap and not afraid to say it! 3 weeks to open a simple account if you survive the nonsensical bureaucracy
MCB:  good, but a very complicated and non-efficient Internet banking system
SBM:  good, simple procedures and quite nice on the charges.  Service might not be of HSBC or MCB level but they are getting to it.

If you have an account with HSBC, they will not ask you for a bank reference letter, that could be an advantage.  Else if you are new to any banks, you will need to provide a bank reference letter, your passport, proof of address and residency permit (if you have).  NB: HSBC requires a business plan for corporate accounts ...

I think Julien created a special thread on banking some months ago.

appreciate the insight, thanks!

Nadeem wrote:

Here's my two pence worth:

HSBC is good but expensive.  They are premium banks. If you can afford, you have an excellent service.
Barclays: crap and not afraid to say it! 3 weeks to open a simple account if you survive the nonsensical bureaucracy
MCB:  good, but a very complicated and non-efficient Internet banking system
SBM:  good, simple procedures and quite nice on the charges.  Service might not be of HSBC or MCB level but they are getting to it.

If you have an account with HSBC, they will not ask you for a bank reference letter, that could be an advantage.  Else if you are new to any banks, you will need to provide a bank reference letter, your passport, proof of address and residency permit (if you have).  NB: HSBC requires a business plan for corporate accounts ...

I think Julien created a special thread on banking some months ago.

My pleasure!

About HSBC's lack of ATMs, they have an agreement with MCB so that you can withdraw from their ATMs for free (for withdrawals above Rs 1000 I believe).

Also, you'll save time (same-day transfer is common) and money (no receiving bank fee) for transfers between the UK and Mauritius.

As Musheer said, you can have your Mauritian account(s) opened by HSBC UK and either collect your cheque book and ATM card on arrival, or have them sent to you abroad. Foreign currency savings accounts have a minimum balance of some thousands, but you can also ask for a foreign currency current account.

I love the difference between Julien and iJulien!