Are off shore bank accounts worth it? (US citizens)

[clover12]

Would you prefer putting $$$ here in the USA, or elsewhere?  please discuss

[1714936174]

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[avikz]

I can give you few reasons to support offshore banking business over onshore one. Let me list out at least two reasons below. I will use the examples of Indian Banking system as I am well aware of it.

1. Higher interest rate:
In Asian countries like India, interest rate on bank deposits varies between 6.9% to 7.8%. It is way higher than any US bank. That helps your money grow faster in offshore.

2. Privileged service:
USD account holders are considered privileged clients. So it offers a lot of additional banking services for such segment of clients. For example, a no brokerage trading account, unlimited free ATM withdrawals, doorstep banking service to name a few.

Usually NRI people are the ones who enjoy such privileges to maintain USD accounts with Indian banks. It is definitely worth to maintain an offshore USD account.

[PlusOne88]

Well that is surely agreeable. Everybody would want to see their money go up in value because of high interest rate. The only problem I could see in this is the idea that you have to probably go offshore to check on the bank personally should you have some trouble about your savings. But anyway this is not much of a problem if the bank has a good customer support. Especially the online support, and most of all, if banks would have to apply or use cryptocurrency for your accounts to be checked and withdrawn easily when needed.

[avikz]

Well that is surely agreeable. Everybody would want to see their money go up in value because of high interest rate. The only problem I could see in this is the idea that you have to probably go offshore to check on the bank personally should you have some trouble about your savings. But anyway this is not much of a problem if the bank has a good customer support. Especially the online support, and most of all, if banks would have to apply or use cryptocurrency for your accounts to be checked and withdrawn easily when needed.

Not really mate! Indian Banking system is technically very advanced compared to many other first world nations. The customer service is also robust so no one would need to visit the bank personally even if they run into any issue with the banking account. I personally maintain two bank accounts and I don't remember when was the last time I had to visit their branch. Everything is done online and over phone nowadays.

[clover12]

Well that is surely agreeable. Everybody would want to see their money go up in value because of high interest rate. The only problem I could see in this is the idea that you have to probably go offshore to check on the bank personally should you have some trouble about your savings. But anyway this is not much of a problem if the bank has a good customer support. Especially the online support, and most of all, if banks would have to apply or use cryptocurrency for your accounts to be checked and withdrawn easily when needed.

Not really mate! Indian Banking system is technically very advanced compared to many other first world nations. The customer service is also robust so no one would need to visit the bank personally even if they run into any issue with the banking account. I personally maintain two bank accounts and I don't remember when was the last time I had to visit their branch. Everything is done online and over phone nowadays.

Don't you need to set up the account in their country?  I'd have to make a trip over there?

[cizatext]

Well it all depends on your purpose of banking the money either offshore or in $$ US because some offshore saving may yield more interest then in the US bank, example some banks in the UK, and Indian pay more interest then most of the banks in the US and also the use of the found to found certain project of choice can force you to bank it offshore.

[Crypdon]

It depends if you want to support your country. Offshore accounts encourages taxes to be avoided and national debt to increase. Although my preference is to go with bitcoin instead and not support any bank in any country

[wuvdoll]

On the topic of high interest, yes you can get higher interest in other countries but its mostly their own currency and not dollars. Which means you are betting against the fiat of that country vs dollar while getting the interest. What if you put your money into a country where their national currency lost more in value than the interest gives you against the dollar ?

In that case you wouldn't be making money at all, hell you would be losing dollars in that case. That is why it doesn't really make sense to put your money in any other country just for the interest.

Nevertheless, if you invest into those countries that is whole another topic, USA companies do make decent amount of return but they are also high entry barrier places whereas an investor could have a ton of stock from some offshore company and could reap the benefits when profiting.

[bitmover]

As far as I know, off shore bank accounts are expensive. You need to pay high bank fees.

Hey are worth if you have a big amount of money, so you can save on taxes.

[clover12]

Well then what bank is offering great interest rates here in the USA??  Mine offers seriously LOW return.

How else can I SAFELY park my fiat with some interest compounding?

[clover12]

Let's say my current bank has funds in it.  Whether it is $500, or $50,000,  Does the government know how much is in there??

Does my bank release info about the value of my account, to the government or some other places??? It's like my money is no secret/?

[cizatext]

Let's say my current bank has funds in it.  Whether it is $500, or $50,000,  Does the government know how much is in there??

Does my bank release info about the value of my account, to the government or some other places??? It's like my money is no secret/?

Well to say the Truth you bank as a centralized financial institution is being controlled by the government and at that the government have the right to know the amount of found you have in your account so there is nothing as secret of account to the government, like in my country there are certain amount of money that will be deposited in you personal account that will flag off a red alart to the government and investigation on the such of the money will be carried out.

[LeGaulois]

The offshore banks are not offshore anymore. It's not the same as it was before with the international information exchanges program. Maybe less than 10% of the banks are still truly offshore, and you can be sure the percentage will reduce with the years coming.

Also when you have nothing to hide you have no use for an offshore bank account

[clover12]

How about Swiss Bank Accounts Are those any good ?

[mrdeposit]

Would you prefer putting $$$ here in the USA, or elsewhere?  please discuss

For third world countries it is understandable to open offshore accounts but for developed countries regulation makes it hard to start new business with offshore bank accounts from my experience. 

[pixie85]

If I had USD and lived in the US I'd be worried. It's not a good idea to keep all your money in one currency even if it's the most popular currency in the world. It's not immune to crashes and inflation so it's a good idea to get an offshore account. It's even a better one to keep some of your money in a different currency like Euros or Pounds.
The point with higher interest rates is also very good.

[clover12]

Would you prefer putting $$$ here in the USA, or elsewhere?  please discuss

For third world countries it is understandable to open offshore accounts but for developed countries regulation makes it hard to start new business with offshore bank accounts from my experience. 

Interesting note. Thanks for the note.

[clover12]

If I had USD and lived in the US I'd be worried. It's not a good idea to keep all your money in one currency even if it's the most popular currency in the world. It's not immune to crashes and inflation so it's a good idea to get an offshore account. It's even a better one to keep some of your money in a different currency like Euros or Pounds.
The point with higher interest rates is also very good.

Well let's just say I am rich and I have $50,000USD in a bank account. --I don't by the way, but theoretically...

How are you going to split that $50 around?  I'd be interested to hear what you think.

Is there a $15,000 limit where the government starts watching??

[breathlessz]

If I had USD and lived in the US I'd be worried. It's not a good idea to keep all your money in one currency even if it's the most popular currency in the world. It's not immune to crashes and inflation so it's a good idea to get an offshore account. It's even a better one to keep some of your money in a different currency like Euros or Pounds.
The point with higher interest rates is also very good.

same as cryptocurrency, where it is better to save our assets to a few coins, so that this can reduce the risk that exists. especially in the crypto world, it has a larger volatile.

[Juggy777]

The offshore banks are not offshore anymore. It's not the same as it was before with the international information exchanges program. Maybe less than 10% of the banks are still truly offshore, and you can be sure the percentage will reduce with the years coming.

Also when you have nothing to hide you have no use for an offshore bank account

Hey gone are the good old days when people used to park their money in offshore bank accounts and avoid paying taxes, back then there was no mechanism to track it. In today’s time however there is a robust mechanism to track it, plus there’re information exchange treaties between countries too. I’ll agree in coming years very few banks will be able to survive, and offer you an offshore account.

[pixie85]

If I had USD and lived in the US I'd be worried. It's not a good idea to keep all your money in one currency even if it's the most popular currency in the world. It's not immune to crashes and inflation so it's a good idea to get an offshore account. It's even a better one to keep some of your money in a different currency like Euros or Pounds.
The point with higher interest rates is also very good.

Well let's just say I am rich and I have $50,000USD in a bank account. --I don't by the way, but theoretically...

How are you going to split that $50 around?  I'd be interested to hear what you think.

Is there a $15,000 limit where the government starts watching??

In the EU banks check and report to your tax authorities transfers of 10000 EUR. It differs in some countries. In Germany it's 12000 if the transaction is local. I would have to check foreign transactions but you can read about it in the banking regulations.
If I wanted to split my USD I'd buy crypto, move it to a country where I have a foreign bank account and sell it on their local exchange. Then I'd move my money ffrom the exchange to my offshore bank account making sure there's less than 10000 EUR per transaction. 

[babarian]

of course it's safe, provided you put it in a trusted bank, I think some countries have some very reliable banks, so you are safe to save your money in foreign banks

[TheCoinGrabber]

On the topic of high interest, yes you can get higher interest in other countries but its mostly their own currency and not dollars. Which means you are betting against the fiat of that country vs dollar while getting the interest. What if you put your money into a country where their national currency lost more in value than the interest gives you against the dollar ?

In that case you wouldn't be making money at all, hell you would be losing dollars in that case. That is why it doesn't really make sense to put your money in any other country just for the interest.

Nevertheless, if you invest into those countries that is whole another topic, USA companies do make decent amount of return but they are also high entry barrier places whereas an investor could have a ton of stock from some offshore company and could reap the benefits when profiting.

Totally agree with this. Where I live $20k US is enough to invest. That's just the price of 1 btc during the ath.

Maybe still keep some in the banks though if considering moving to said country.

[LeGaulois]

How about Swiss Bank Accounts Are those any good ?

Switzerland is a member of the OECD group. http://www.oecd.org
Countries exchange information and more countries will be included. So if today a bank is offshore, it's possible that tomorrow not anymore.
There are still few banks there like BSI, CBH,...

[dothebeats]

The offshore banks are not offshore anymore. It's not the same as it was before with the international information exchanges program. Maybe less than 10% of the banks are still truly offshore, and you can be sure the percentage will reduce with the years coming.

Also when you have nothing to hide you have no use for an offshore bank account

Yup. Usually, Swiss bank accounts are the ones being used for money laundering and by plunderers who wish to keep their assets away from exposé and being sniffed by their own government, though governments can ask offshore banks to disclose some info regarding statements and balances if they are after one person who may have potentially done something fishy in terms of their finances and wealth.

Interest rates, accompanied with better service is what usually tempt people to open an offshore bank account, though if you're really not doing something bad, or don't really need to have a bank account abroad, why open an offshore one? I can only see an offshore bank being viable if one person intend to travel on the country where their bank account is opened to have easy access to cash and ATMs should they need it.

[muhtesem]

of course, I prefer to keep it in my country if it is local currency. annually gives interest up to 25%. 3% per annum for euro and usd. even strangely, foreigners come and put the money here for interest. What are your interest rates in your country? everyone write please.

[sheenshane]

Ever since offshore banking was taken advantage by the oligarch for some reasons. Interests rates, privacy, and liquidation were the reasons why they banked their cash offshore. Some people also take advantage of offshore if they have a categorized ^dirty money in the USA and will be cleaned offshore.

Swiss was the most trusted country in the world when it comes to banking. There were a lot of gossips that Swiss were accepting cash and hides it because the people who do it are somewhat illegal or needs to hide their fiats for some serious purposes.

[BlueStackz]

of course it's safe, provided you put it in a trusted bank, I think some countries have some very reliable banks, so you are safe to save your money in foreign banks

It is a good point to keep it a safe bank outside your country but at the same time it’s possible you also have banks that are trust worthy so the basic thinks to look out for is the necessary benefits of banking outside your country of residence and one of this benefit is the interest that is paid from the deduction of taxes, and the fact it offers flexibility in terms of account usage. So, you can put this and many more into  consideration and say it is worth it

[LeGaulois]

The offshore banks are not offshore anymore. It's not the same as it was before with the international information exchanges program. Maybe less than 10% of the banks are still truly offshore, and you can be sure the percentage will reduce with the years coming.

Also when you have nothing to hide you have no use for an offshore bank account

Yup. Usually, Swiss bank accounts are the ones being used for money laundering and by plunderers who wish to keep their assets away from exposé and being sniffed by their own government, though governments can ask offshore banks to disclose some info regarding statements and balances if they are after one person who may have potentially done something fishy in terms of their finances and wealth.

Interest rates, accompanied with better service is what usually tempt people to open an offshore bank account, though if you're really not doing something bad, or don't really need to have a bank account abroad, why open an offshore one? I can only see an offshore bank being viable if one person intend to travel on the country where their bank account is opened to have easy access to cash and ATMs should they need it.

I think I said it in this topic or another, but there are still a few banks offshore in Switzerland but things will change with the time as the list of countries keep growing.

Now in 2019 if you go here and go to a bank to open an account, they will gladly accept you. Then if you say you want to deposit $100k cash they will gladly tell you to go to another bank unless you can prove the fund's origin.

[Renaldi blackspadeteam]

Would you prefer putting $$$ here in the USA, or elsewhere?  please discuss

I prefer to get $$$ elsewhere because I am not American, maybe if there is capital I can go to work directly but there must be a boss who accepts haha ​​lol, honestly there are a lot of jobs but I feel strange because I like dollars rather than my country's money, is there anything in common with me.