Swiss Offshore Banking
Published on Wednesday, November 04th, 2009
A Swiss bank account is often thought of as the dirtiest of naughtiest offshore bank accounts. People seem to assume that if it’s in Switzerland then it is bound to be wrong and all tied up with illegal transactions, privacy and dodgy dealings.
Now whilst we’re quite happy for people to have this perception if it gives them a little thrill, unfortunately the truth is so far from this myth that we thought we’d better tell the truth about Swiss offshore banking in the name of responsible journalism!
Switzerland is not on any black lists for lack of banking compliance, it does not have any anonymous bank accounts in place, it has double taxation agreements in place, and its Federal Department of Finance even welcomed the decisions of the G20 nations to strengthen the stability of financial markets through the introduction of among other things, measures to tighten banking regulations. So what other myths can we dispel about offshore bank accounts in Switzerland…?
Confusion reigns when it comes to getting bank accounts sorted out for a move abroad. People are advised incorrectly, read misleading information and generally are not sure whether any action they take is useful – or even legal. And with the news out today that the police in Britain are chasing targets and seeking to convict more middle-aged people than ever in a bid to “hit their numbers,” soon-to-be retirees certainly don’t want to do anything illegal with their cash!
With the exchange rate between the British pound and all other major currencies such as the dollar and the euro at an all time weak level, never before have we Britons been so acutely aware of how important it is to get an international money transfer right! More than ever we’re aware of the charges banks make when they move our money about and we’re looking more closely than ever at the rate of exchange we’re being exposed to.
Have you ever heard of the concept of a prepaid currency card? No? Neither had we until very recently! But apparently these nifty cards are not only bang on trend (!) they are an expat’s new best friend.
Thanks to the poor state of the British economy, the pound has been punished repeatedly for the nation’s mistakes and it finds itself languishing weakly against the likes of the euro and the dollar. For those Britons living abroad, this is very bad news indeed – and for those in the UK who want to perhaps buy a home abroad, it is also frustrating to say the least.
We were recently asked to comment on the banking dilemmas faced by a case-study couple who had moved to live abroad in their early retirement. The comment was for an article that will be written about the trials and tribulations the couple have faced in terms of their integration into life in abroad, and it is due to appear in the international version a leading British newspaper some time soon. Now, the interesting thing about the aspects we were asked to comment upon was how poorly advised this couple had been from the outset when it came to their banking needs.
