Who wants to be a Zimbabwe Trillionare?
Having an offshore bank account is a fundamental part of international diversification. It’s especially important in times like these when currency controls and government regulations are getting stricter, supposedly, “to battle money laundering and international terrorism.” Offshore banking gives you a way of having part of your wealth outside of your country, so that you never risk having one government freeze or confiscate all your assets.
Governments, especially the US Goverment, can freeze and confiscate your assets without even having to prove their case. They might just act on a hunch. How would you feel like waking up one day with your credit cards not working and finding out all your accounts are frozen indefinitely? It can take months, or even years, of lenghty court hearings before you get your money back. How are you going to afford a lawyer if your bank accounts are frozen?
A foreign bank account is an important diversification “flag” to plant abroad. You really want to consider jurisdictions with low taxes, a strong and stable financial sector, and one without a history of plundering the banks in bad times.
A point worth mentioning is that offshore banking is not about hiding your money from the tax man, it is about diversifying your sovereign risk.
Often times, you’ll also find that offshore interest rates are far better than domestic ones — if this comes as a surprise for you, it is not your fault. For obvious reasons, domestic banks are not going to tell you that you can get a much better return just by having your money in a foreign bank account. Not to mention the fact that foreign banks are likely to be stronger than banks in your home country.
Places where you will find the best offshore bank include countries like Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, Qatar, and a few others. An ”Offshore” bank doesn’t neccessarily have to be located in a so called ”tax haven”. Several of the countries mentioned above are spared of the tax haven-stamp that many other low tax countries have.
Offshore Internet Banking: Getting Started Remotely
Most of the time, a foreign bank requires you to come to their office in person to open an account, as well as provide a seemingly endless array of notarized documents, stamped papers, and letters of reference. It is possible though to open a foreign bank account without leaving the country and manage your foreign account online from all over the world. Offshore online banking is a great way to manage your finances, no matter where you live in the world.
“This is the fastest and easiest way to open a foreign bank account without actually having to fly to a foreign country and go through the process on the ground.”
Read more about this easy way to open a foreign bank account. Basically, you can go about opening a bank account overseas, in Hong Kong for example, by going to an international bank with branches in both Hong Kong and in your country.
There are some international banks that will be willing to open an account on your behalf in their foreign bransch, and take care of all documentation requirements without you having to leave the country.
So what does it cost to open a foreign bank account?
Some banks require you to deposit and maintain a balance of at least $5000 in your account, but there are also banks where you can open an account and deposit as little as a few hundred dollars.
More About Opening An Offshore Bank Account
There is a bevy of information and misinformation out there about offshore banking. Some say it’s illegal (it certainly isn’t), while some say it’s a great way to hide money and not worry about paying taxes (you’ll end up in jail). As always, do your due diligence before you make any major decisions regarding your finances, and preferably get advice from a professional.
Here’s a few articles about international banking in general and opening an offshore bank account in particular.
Do you have a retirement account? Here’s how the US Government can seize your assets in the near future and how having an offshore bank account can protect you.
For many years, Austria has been one of the top countries in Europe for international banking. Before opening a foreign bank account in Austria, there are some things to consider — read more in this article.
Simon answers the question, “Can the US government still freeze your bank accounts even though they are offshore?”
Now all you have to do is take action, good news is it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to open an offshore account if you know where to look. Need help?
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