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As a rule of thumb, avoid young banks. Most locals are customers of the MCB.

I've got lots of questions and I thought it would be easier (for me and for other people looking for the same information) to break it down per subject matter! (Hope that's ok.)

That's ok and highly recommended

The most convenient bank it terms of ATMs is definitely the MCB, but other banks are definitely worth a try. As I am not living in Tamarin but in the north I will let other members living close to Tamarin share their experience.

I wrote an article about banks a while ago, I hope it's not outdated /en/guide/africa/m … itius.html

All the best,

Julien

Thanks vasoov - what do you mean by young banks? Would it be worth us opening an account with HSBC as we are HSBC in the UK?

Salut Julien,

Thank you for your help - that blog post was really useful :-)

We need to prove $35,000 in a bank account for our occupation permit, but I see in your blog post we need a work permit to open the account....any ideas how that would work in that case?

Also as we are with HSBC in the UK would it make more sense / be easier to stay with them or better to move to MCB?

Many thanks,
Sophie

The HSBC works well if you will be operating on an international level, but for practical purposes such as ATM services, the MCB works best. By young banks, I mean any local bank that has less than 25 years of experience.

Thanks, that's good to know.

I suggest as with any bank in MRU you need to havea personal relationship with the     Manager or the assistant and you will bewell looedafter andget priority rates too!!

Regards
Vedan

In and around Tamarin, I would strongly suggest MCB, as they have a branch in Riviere Noire and have multiple ATM's all over the island.

As far as my knowledge goes, the closest HSBC is in Quatre Bornes (if there is a branch closer to Tamarin, can someone please confirm it.)

Elzaan

As an HSBC customer in the UK I had every intention of opening an account here. After a frustrating month and umpteen phone calls and still no account I went into MCB at Black River and opened an account within an hour including internet banking and my debit card.

I bank with HSBC in France so I opened through them an account in Mauritius: when I arrived, my bank account, ATM card and cheque books were ready, which a nice time saver. Fellow expats have opened account on their arrival in an hour or so.

Also, they do have fewer ATMs as others have pointed out but you can withdraw for free at MCB (for withdrawls above Rs 1,000). That makes their main downside (scarcity of ATMs) less problematic. You can also use your local ATM card to withdraw in HSBC ATMs all over the world with no fees.

We use MCB and quite pleased with them. No problems with direct debits, internet banking etc and the La Croisette branch is very user friendly with helpful "greeters"!
I also love the fact that they have lots of ATMs

We ended up going with MCB, super easy, super friendly, branch nearby and ATMs everywhere. HSBC were a nightmare so we gave up!