I frequent a number of online forums and offline conferences. I also have experience dealing with a number of offshore service providers (OSPs). One thing that strikes me as worrying when peers are discussing is how easily one person will recommend a bank.
Let me perfectly clear about this: choosing an offshore bank (or any bank for that matter) is a long and complicated process. Simplifying may hurt your business significantly in the long run.
How to Pick Offshore Bank
The first thing you need to do is to assess your own needs. What type of banking services do you need?
What will your account be used for? If you are accepting direct deposits from customers from Europe, they will likely appreciate it if you have an IBAN. Do you need some type of card product? Credit card, debit card – maybe both? Are you looking for a current account or perhaps savings, maybe even investments or trade? How much money do you have set aside for initial deposit?
Once you have a clear picture of your immediate as well as future (as far as you can plan) banking needs, it’s time to head over to the next step, which is to determine suitable jurisdictions.
Do you need a bank in a specific region? How important is political stability? Political freedoms? Taxes? Consider everything from the political situation to climate to stability of the jurisdiction. Does the reputation of the jurisdiction matter to you?
Different jurisdictions offer different degrees of banking secrecy. Also consider if the jurisdiction has any relevant double taxation agreements (DTA) or tax information exchange agreements (TIEA); whether you are looking to take advantage of them or want to avoid them.
You should now have a good understanding of your banking requirements and a list of a handful of suitable jurisdictions.
Next up is to find a list of banks in each jurisdiction. Central banks and financial services authorities often have links on their websites.
Go through every single bank’s website and relevant sources of information and read about their services, fees, opening hours, customer service languages, support methods (mail, chat, phone, messaging), age of the bank, financial statements, mentions in media, minimum balance requirements, and whatever else you can use to filter out banks.
Once you have a shortlist of banks, it is time to talk to the bank.
I usually start by phoning the bank or submit a request on their website for a phone consultation. As I wrote in my post titled “How to Open an Offshore Bank Account“, I am in favour of visiting the bank in person; at least if I plan to use the account for anything serious.
When it comes to opening offshore bank accounts remotely, my experience is that almost any banks will do it but some only do it under very special circumstances. Generally speaking, Caribbean, Mauritius, and some European (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Latvia) open accounts remotely for anyone who can fill in an application form and provide the correct documentation, whereas Asian and Middle Eastern banks are more in favour of meeting the client in person. That said – it doesn’t hurt to ask.
I wouldn’t waste my time visiting banks in for example Belize, though. It’s generally speaking a waste of time and some won’t even let you visit them.
At this point, you have probably spent a couple of hours over a number of days or weeks researching banks and you should have picked your offshore bank.
So I was told that in order for me to open an RMB account I had to visit one of the branches. Even though I currently have a bank account at this bank it didn’t make any difference?! I was told that they couldn’t open an RMB account for me unless I was physically there.
Why is having an RMB account so difficult?
There are a lot of restrictions on the RMB/CNY, which banks need to comply with. China uses capital controls to ensure global competitiveness.
Thanks for the helpful reply!
I just found out that the Bank Of China in London will open an RMB account. I have emailed them requesting some more info and will report back…
I found in Singapore the one bank wanted SGD$50000 minimum to be able to open an RMB account…ouch.
No problem!
I’ve also been thinking of opening an account that can hold Chinese Yuan/Renminbi, do you know of any bank that do this? I asked my offshore bank but they don’t deal in this currency.
Hong Kong, Singapore, and (increasingly) Taiwan are popular destinations for CNY/RMB accounts. Plenty of banks there will do it. HSBC, UOB, OCBC, BOC, DBS, and so on.
I am told banks in Europe are trying to introduce CNY/RMB more and more, although I haven’t looked into this much yet.
I’ve read one or two blogs where they have said its quite easy for a non-resident to open an account.
I did email someone at BMO and they said I had to bring two forms of ID to open the account. I did mention that I was a non-resident but didn’t seem to be a problem.
To quote the bank customer services agent:
If you are a non-Canadian resident, you will need to visit a BMO Bank of Montreal branch with two pieces of personal identification to apply for an account.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing!
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on banking in Canada? I’ve been looking into opening a bank account at the Bank of Montreal (BOM):
http://www.bmo.com
Any thoughts?
No real experience there to speak of, I’m afraid. A few years ago, I was involved in a project where we were investigating Canadian banks but they all made it too much of a hassle for non-residents. It might have improved since then.