Offshore Banking Explained

If you, like many of us, have been misled by media mishandling of information about offshore banking and the legitimacy and usefulness of it, please allow us to help set the record straight.

If you’re going to live abroad, you have a home overseas or you perhaps regularly work abroad for your company, you may well benefit substantially from an offshore bank account.

In this article, offshore banking will be explained in its most straightforward sense.  It’s essential to pass on this information because governments are so anti-money laundering and tax evasion and so successful in getting the media to blanket cover anything relating to ‘offshore’ as evil and illegal, that the very real and legitimate reasons for banking offshore are completely ignored!

As stated, expatriates, those who own a property abroad or people with what we term an ‘international lifestyle,’ can all potentially benefit a heck of a lot from an offshore bank account.  By its very nature such an account is flexible – and when you’re living abroad or sending money back and forth between more than one country or transacting in more than one currency, then the very thing you need is flexibility from an offshore account.

But let’s start with what offshore banking is not: -

Offshore banking is NOT illegal
Offshore banking is NOT immoral
Offshore banking is NOT just for the rich or famous
Offshore banking is NOT about hiding money
Offshore banking is NOT about evading or avoiding taxation

Okay, with that cleared up here is offshore banking explained in a nutshell!  Many of the leading high street banks offer offshore banking services to clients – so accessible is offshore banking to all.  Basically offshore banking is the management of financial assets from a jurisdiction other than the one in which you reside.  For some people it does have very real and legitimate taxation advantages, but for the vast majority of us, it is all about ease of money management.

If you’re going to be living in Spain but still owning property or having financial obligations in the UK, an offshore bank account could allow you to move money back and forth between the UK and Spain and between the pound and the euro with low costs and fees, simply and seamlessly.

If you’re living in the UK and you have an investment property in Australia then an offshore bank account could allow you to manage the money your tenants pay you in Aussie dollars, pay property management services in Australia and also access the profit in the UK.

If you euro-commute and live in France and work in the UK, an offshore bank account can allow your employer to pay you via a normal high street bank – therefore stopping them complaining about any added hassles – and you can access the money from British and French ATMs with one card, and you can easily and transparently use the account both in the UK and in France.

If you’re living in the UK and working for an international company that regularly requires you to travel for business all over the world, offshore banking could benefit you as some accounts have additional features for international clients, such as allowing them access to airport lounges and travel services.  Some accounts give clients travel insurance as part of the package too – and ultimately, if you are such a client leading such an international lifestyle, an offshore bank account will allow you access to your money in multiple currencies from multiple locations often fee free, it will allow you to manage your finances at any time of the day or night no matter what time zone you’re currently in, and it will help you make the most of your cash!

Offshore banking in its simplest form suits those of us who make the very most of the fact that we can travel, live and work anywhere, invest in properties abroad or different money markets and who think outside the small box that is the UK.  If you want to know more about the fundamental basics and benefits of offshore banking – speak to any of the main banks such as HSBC, NatWest, Barclays or Lloyds and learn about the services they offer.  This will give you a very good grounding in the subject and help you see whether an offshore bank account could actually be of benefit to you.