Recently, I've been working on cross-border transfers and have figured out some tricks. I'm writing a guide to help everyone avoid unnecessary detours.

Let’s start with card setup. Mainland Bank of China + Bank of China (Hong Kong) can do same-name transfers with zero fees, but I haven’t personally used this setup. What I actually use is a combination of HSBC Hong Kong card + Industrial Bank’s Global Life debit card.

Global Life is a great tool—it offers 30 overseas remittances per year with no handling or telegraph fees. Apply for it in the app, then activate it at a branch; it takes three or four business days. Here’s a tip: if you go directly to the branch, you can get the card on the spot, but remember to call ahead—some branches insist that you apply online.

Once you have the card, transfers are smooth. Transferring HKD is the easiest—no loss at all, and usually credited within a day. Transferring USD is a bit trickier: the key is whether the intermediary bank routes through the US. I’ve reviewed a lot of real cases, and the summary is to fill in the intermediary bank information completely and try to submit in the morning.

Specifically, when remitting, fill in the correspondent bank’s SWIFT code—HSBC Hong Kong’s is HSBCHKHHHKH. There’s a saying online that Industrial Bank approvals before 3pm are more likely to route through Hong Kong with no fees. So the earlier you submit, the better, since the review is manual and timing can vary.

I tried two transfers myself, both submitted before 11:30am. Approval times were 4pm and 5pm, both arrived in full, and the money was in my account the next day.

There’s also a basic way: withdraw cash from a mainland ATM and physically take it to deposit in an HSBC ATM in Hong Kong. However, HSBC machines only accept HKD, so this...