Why All Expats Should Have An International Bank Account

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.

Had they perhaps sought expert advice from a bank that has an international presence, such as HSBC for example which is on high streets around the world in one form or another, they would hopefully have been better advised about the benefits and advantages of possibly maintaining an account back in the UK as well as a new one in France, as well as the very real advantages of having an offshore or international bank account too.

In this report we’re going to explain why all expats should probably have an international bank account – because if you’re moving abroad the last thing you need to be worrying about is getting access to your money or getting your money in the right place at the right time to honour all sorts of commitments from buying a house to paying a builder or solicitor.  There’s enough to worry about when you first arrive overseas, so really you want to have your money matters correctly structured before you go.  And trust us, it really is not difficult to get your most basic banking requirements in order.

When you move abroad you will find you need a local account in your new nation so that you can pay your utility bills, apply for finance to buy a car maybe, so that you can get a mobile phone and just for the ease and cost effectiveness of paying for everyday goods.

Living abroad you may well retain ties to your old nation as well – maybe you have an ongoing mortgage commitment, maybe your old employer pays your pension into your UK account and perhaps you shop for all sorts of things such as flight tickets online on English sites so you need a credit or debit card registered in the UK to be able to pay for such transactions.

This is usually as far as any expat gets in terms of being given advice about banking when abroad – although some are now being advised and learning about the advantages of using currency exchange specialists when they want to transfer large sums of cash overseas for a home purchase for example.  But that’s another issue and another article altogether!  What a lot of expats fail to find good information about is how an international bank account can help them.  It is only when they struggle with making international transfers back and forth between an account back home and one in their new nation of choice that they perhaps begin to wish there was an easier solution.

Have you ever been in the position where you’ve sent money from abroad back home and have waited and waited for it to appear and pop out the other end of the transferring system?  Perhaps you questioned the local bank and asked them ‘how come it’s taking so long?’  If your knowledge of local banking terminology in the native language is less than perfect you’ll be left wondering and worrying until when, up to 4 weeks later, the money finally arrives.  If you make the transfer the other way you’ll be told all sorts of compliance type guff by your bank about how long said transfer ‘may’ take.  And even then you’re surprised when the money disappears into the clearing system for days and cannot seemingly be traced!

It’s a very worrying experience – along the lines of ‘now you see it now you don’t’ – where does your money go and why?  Well, your money is transferred from clearing house to clearing house encountering handling charges all the way until it finally pops out the other end, eroded in value, when someone in a position of sufficient power somewhere finally presses the right button!  It really is as basically primitive as that – although the banking jargon will jazz it up for you!

So, what can you do to get around this very worrying situation and how can you better handle any international, cross border money matters? 

By opening an international bank account!

Here are five top reasons why expatriates should seriously think about opening and running, maintaining and utilising the services of an offshore or international bank account: -

1) You can bank in any or even multiple currencies
2) You can access your money back home, offshore and in your new nation of residence through the banking system of one bank – whether that be a name such as HSBC that has global presence, or maybe even Barclays if you’re moving to France or Abbey, (Santander) if you’re moving to Spain.
3) You can maintain, develop and build upon your own banking reputation with the one institution so that your lines of credit are maintained for example
4) You can have access to your money and information about your account/s 24 hours a day 7 days a week with an international account
5) There is the potential of tax efficiency as well as securing a safe haven for your cash.  (Naturally these potential benefits are related to aspects such as the country you’re living in and where you’re domiciled etc., but are well worth exploring with an international banking adviser.)

These are just the 5 most common convenience based benefits of holding money offshore or within an international bank account structure – and to sum it all up with one word it’s about ‘flexibility.’  And this flexibility is what you need when you’re starting out on a new life abroad, when you’re spreading your time between the UK and overseas countries, when you’re travelling, working or just exploring overseas.  You do not want to worry about accessing cash, your money being safe, the currency exchange erosion potential or just the bank transfer charges involved in sending money all over the world – you just want your money to be safe and for you to be in charge of it!

Well, this is where an international bank account can come in very handy!  So make sure you look into the very real benefits that you could access if you opened an offshore bank account…