If you're like me, and a HKID holder based in Australia who doesn't have a HK bank account / can't travel back to HK any time soon to claim your $HKD10,000 cash handout, I have done a tonne of research, and came across a way you can circumvent this, without having to pay the set up fees (apparently a few hundred AUD) that banks like HSBC are charging to set up a HK account offshore - full credit to this youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTBbe0bk7Yc&t=86s) and I have no affiliation (besides being a customer) to any of the banks / services outlined.
I have tried to summarise and translate (for those who don’t understand cantonese) my experience below, but to pre-empt the messages, this method is definitely not a quick and easy method, but I guess its pretty worth it for the ~$A2,000 you can get at the end, and hopefully I can save you some time with the trial and error I’ve done:
Eligibility - PLEASE CONFIRM YOU ARE ELIGIBLE BY REFERRING TO https://www.cashpayout.gov.hk/eng/index.html. You will also need a valid HK address (friends/family) and HK phone number (refer to step 1 if you don’t have access to a phone number)
I am an Apple user, so most of these steps are for iPhone, however, its a very similar process for Android.
Step 1: Set up a HK phone number (or if you have friends / family, you can use their phone number for setting up). You can use any apps that allow you to do this (Skype, WeChat). This method is using WeChat and costs a approx. $A5.
1.1) Find and follow “multibyte_esender”
1.2) In your messages, click on the eSender thread, and click eSender-Registration Service-Hong Kong Number-Registration Service-No Sim(SMS for WeChat Only)
1.3) Input your own Aus phone number. Select the HKD38 for 90 days plan - suggest this plan as it gives you enough buffer in case there are delays in processing the payout
1.4) Choose your preferred phone number
1.5) Tick the first blue font check box, and the last one - essentially agreeing to terms (first) and not accepting promo material (last) (https://youtu.be/QTBbe0bk7Yc?t=340)
1.6) Pay using preferred method
Your number should now be set up, and you should see confirmation messages in the chat.
Step 2: Set up a ZA Bank account (ZA Bank is HK's first virtual bank / neo bank - similar to Australia's Xinja, Volt, etc)
2.1) Search "ZA Bank" app on your corresponding app store. You will need to change your App Store / Google Play Store location to be Hong Kong.
This step is the most frustrating, especially if you are an iPhone user. I have friends who have Android devices who have said it is a lot easier to do. Google “changing apple ID region” and give that a go, but in the end, I found the easiest way was just to create a new apple ID with a dummy HK address whilst using a VPN located in HK.
2.2) Once you’ve downloaded ZA Bank, register account using your HK number from Step 1 and verify the number.
2.3) Invitation Code: Either “GET300” which is the ZA Bank’s promo code
Step 3: Claim payout via ZA Bank
3.1) Go to “Account” and there should be a rolling banner for “Cash Payout Scheme” - “1-step sign up”. Follow the prompts, really simple registration
Hopefully this was helpful and worked for you guys too!
Let me know if you have any questions!!!!
Thanks OZB fam :)
Mod: Referral links/codes not allowed on OzBargain posts/comments.
Everyone I know is not collecting this $10k.
There are too many risks involved for such a small sum of money.
First of all you would need to check if you are still a permanent resident with right of abode. If you have Australian Citizenship and haven't flown back for 36 months, you probably don't qualify, and not only that; you would have lost permanent residency.
The other big thing to look out for is that the immigration departments now have entry and exit records. You could be bent backwards depending on what is written in the legislation.