We have a small account with HSBC here in Qatar. But recently we found out that the on-line banking feature was incompatible with our Mac, sigh. But why would you need the bank to be local if you do all your transactions on-line or through an ATM? I use my bank account from home for most of my transactions, i.e., direct deposit, credit and debit cards. If you have a credit or debit card from the Middle East you do not have the fraud protections of a card from, say, the US. And since checks are generally not accepted in Qatar, the point of a local bank becomes moot.
We have a small account with HSBC here in Qatar. But recently we found out that the on-line banking feature was incompatible with our Mac, sigh. But why would you need the bank to be local if you do all your transactions on-line or through an ATM? I use my bank account from home for most of my transactions, i.e., direct deposit, credit and debit cards. If you have a credit or debit card from the Middle East you do not have the fraud protections of a card from, say, the US. And since checks are generally not accepted in Qatar, the point of a local bank becomes moot.