Todd NesnickWhat is your most cherished dream? Would you like to earn a fortune? Is it safety and security for your family and loved ones? Or maybe you moon over being more independent in business? Let me assure you, these and many more goals are achievable with the right strategy, attitude, game plan, and instruments at hand. While the choice of strategies and schemes to achieve your goals varies with each business and depends on its specifics, some instruments you may use such as offshore accounts are more uniform.
Although often associated with complex financial schemes and even trickery (most of us haven’t yet forgotten the notorious Pandora papers case), offshore banking is pretty legal if done by the book. Besides, even a common person like you or me is free to open offshore accounts if they so please – it only takes a couple of hours of your precious time. Undoubtedly, each offshore jurisdiction comes with its own standards for those wishing to set up offshore accounts therein, so if you feel like joining their number, you’d better be prepared and do your study.
First things first, to set up an offshore account with an overseas bank, you will have to produce IDs and other documents to prove that you are who you claim to be. Also, be prepared to verify your income sources for the bank you are about to deal with. If the bank in question is happy with the documents and confirmations produced, it will allow you to set up an offshore account therein and you will be able to use it for various purposes afterwards. In principle, the requirements offshore banks set for would-be offshore account holders aren’t much different from the ones their home banks have. Likewise, you will need to feed them your personal info like your full name, address, date of birth, occupation, and citizenship. The bank will verify the data by comparing the info you provided with your ID info, say, from your passport or driver’s license. For taxation purposes, the applicant’s physical or residential address is verified by checking the presented info against their recent utility bills or analogous documents that contain the applicant’s current residential address.
Document authenticity may be proven through notarization or apos illation, depending on your bank’s requirements. To prevent tax fraud and/or money laundering, your offshore bank may require some additional documents from you. These may be financial docs e.g., bank statements issued by your current bank to prove you have a satisfactory relationship therewith as well as sufficient account balances.
Facing increasing pressures on the part of international regulators, offshore banks may be forced to require that you confirm or prove your fund sources to make sure they are of legal nature. Where the issue concerns investments, your offshore bank oftentimes requests your investment history and/or geography.
With offshore banks, you are free to pick a currency for your offshore account. This is especially useful if your national currency is unreliable or unstable. As appealing as this feature may seem, it is bound with certain consequences, which may be both positive and negative. Say, if you decide to hold funds on your offshore account in different currencies, you may earn interest on your deposits yet be forced to pay taxes on foreign income at the same time. To withdraw funds from your offshore account or deposit them thereon, you may need to exchange foreign currencies and thus bear additional expenses.
Most often, offshore accounts are replenished by electronic wire transfers. Although easy to handle, in most cases an international wire transfer comes with its own fees and you will need to check with the concerned bank which ones apply in your case. Withdrawing money from offshore accounts is usually possible via a debit card – again, remember the fees. Checks are another option which is time and again not taken seriously due to the lack of confidentiality. To simplify money withdrawal, offshore account holders often prefer to have 2 accounts, one of which should be with their home bank. With this option, they are free to seamlessly transfer large amounts from their offshore bank to the domestic account and manage the money easily after this happens. The option offers the best of both worlds, combining high security and privacy with the ease of banking locally.
Most often, offshore banking is popular with business people operating a company overseas. International investors and tax resident account holders also benefit from offshore banking opportunities. To make things easier for both them and you as a potential offshore account holder, International Wealth suggests you open an international bank account online. Assisted by top industry experts, you will soon be able to efficiently use your brand new offshore account to its full potential.