Friends who invest in Hong Kong stocks and US stocks often encounter this dilemma: Buying Hong Kong stocks requires HKD, while buying US stocks requires USD. When purchasing US stocks, if you don't have enough USD, you need to exchange HKD for USD first.

However, there is exchange rate loss during the process of converting HKD to USD.

For example, the current market exchange rate is 7.7703 HKD to 1 USD. But in reality, you might need 7.78 HKD or even 7.80 HKD to get 1 USD—this is the exchange rate loss.

Our goal is to find a low-loss method to convert HKD to USD.

Ideally, we want to exchange 7.7703 HKD for 1 USD (though this is difficult since platforms need to make a profit). If not possible, at least aim for 7.78 HKD per USD instead of 7.80 HKD.
 

Generally, currency exchange is done via bank apps, Hong Kong stock brokerage apps, or third-party platforms. This article compares the exchange rate losses across different channels so you can choose the platform with the least loss.

Let’s see how much USD you get when converting 10,000 HKD. Based on the current market lossless rate, 10,000 HKD equals 1,286.97 USD.

1. Bank Apps

Bank apps definitely support HKD-to-USD conversion—let’s check the exchange rate loss.

The most commonly used Hong Kong banks are HSBC, Bank of China (Hong Kong), and ZA Bank. Here’s their conversion performance.
 

(1) HSBC

In the HSBC app, go to "Transfer & Pay" → "Foreign Exchange" to access the currency exchange page:

With HSBC, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,281.84 USD.
 

(2) Bank of China (Hong Kong)

In the BOCHK app, navigate to "Invest" → "Foreign Exchange" → "Currency Exchange":

With BOCHK, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,282.56 USD.

(3) ZA Bank

In the ZA Bank app, tap "Home" → "Currency Exchange":

With ZA Bank, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,282.64 USD.

2. Hong Kong Stock Brokerage Apps
 

Below are examples from several popular Hong Kong stock brokerages to compare exchange rate losses.
 

(1) Longbridge

In the Longbridge app, go to "Assets" → "Currency Exchange":

With Longbridge, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,285 USD.

(2) Tiger Brokers
 

In the Tiger Trade app, tap "Holdings" → "Currency Exchange":

With Tiger Brokers, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,284.76 USD.

(3) Futu

In the Futu NiuNiu app, go to "Account" → "More" → "Currency Exchange":

With Futu, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,284.76 USD.

(4) Huatai International
 

In the Huatai International app, tap "Account" → "Currency Exchange":

With Huatai International, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,285.47 USD.

(5) uSMART

In the uSMART app, go to "Trade" → "More" → "Currency Exchange":

With uSMART, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,283.10 USD.

(6) Zorlu Securities

In the Zorlu Securities app, tap "Trade" → "Currency Exchange":

With Zorlu Securities, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,281.15 USD.

(7) Fosun International
 

In the StarWealth app, go to "Account" → "All Features" → "Currency Exchange":

With Fosun International, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,283.33 USD.

3. Third-Party Platforms
 

Popular third-party platforms for currency exchange include Wise and Panda Remit.
 

(1) Wise

In the Wise app, tap "Check our exchange rates":

With Wise, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,282.08 USD.

(2) Panda Remit

In the Panda Remit app, tap the middle icon at the bottom:

Note: As a new user, I received a coupon. Without it, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,284 USD; with the coupon, it’s 1,289 USD.

With Panda Remit, 10,000 HKD converts to 1,284.00 USD.

4. Conclusion
 

Here’s a comparison of all platforms:
 

Sorted data for clarity:

Clearly, brokerages offer better rates than banks. The top three platforms with the least loss are Huatai International, Longbridge, and Tiger Brokers. Bank apps have higher exchange rate losses.