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    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
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    • Home
    • Countries

      Top Destinations:

      Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • Colombia
      • Cyprus
      • Mexico
      • France
      • Montenegro
      • Browse All Countries

      Best For:

      • The Best Places To Retire
      • Health Care Abroad
      • Cost Of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Establishing Residency
      • Gun Laws In The World
      • English-Speaking Countries
      • Safest Places For Retirement
      • Best Places In Latin America
    • Budgets

      How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

      The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

      Super Cheap

      • Chitré, Panama
      • Santa Marta, Colombia
      • Phuket, Thailand
      • Dumaguete, The Philippines

      Cheap

      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Kyrenia, Cyprus
      • Hua Hin, Thailand
      • The Algarve, Portugal

      Affordable

      • Valencia, Spain
      • Cascais, Portugal
      • Las Terrenas, The DR
      • Pisa, Italy
      • La Rochelle, France
      • Mazatlán, Mexico

      Luxury

      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Kotor, Montenegro
      • The Panama City Beaches
      • Paris, France
    • Resources

      Global Living

      • Living & Retiring Overseas
      • Raising A Family Abroad
      • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
      • Offshore & Diversification

      Making Money

      • International Real Estate
      • Banking
      • Employment
      • Investing

      Follow Us:

      • Meet Our Experts
    • Real Estate

      Join our Weekly Newsletter
      Overseas Property Alert

      Sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive expert insights on the best international real estate investment opportunities.






        We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

        Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

        • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

        Explore Our Latest Posts

        • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

        Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

        • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
      • Conferences

        Upcoming Events

        • Explore Our Events Site

        Live and Invest In Spain Conference

        Offshore Wealth Summit

        Greece Workshop

        VALENCIA, SPAIN

        Sep. 17-19, 2025

        PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

        Oct. 15-17, 2025

        VIRTUAL

        Nov. 13, 2025

        LEARN MORE
        DISCOUNT
        LEARN MORE
        PRE-REGISTER
        LEARN MORE
        PRE-REGISTER
        • MORE EVENTS

        Contact Our Events Team

        Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
        1 (888) 627 8834
        From Outside North America:
        1 (443) 599 1221
        Working Hours
        Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

        Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

      • Store

        Unlock The World

        • Access Your Library

        Overseas Havens Reports

        • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

        Conference Kits

        • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

        Lahardan Books

        • Titles on living and investing around the world
        • Explore Our Store
        Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

        Services

        overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
        The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
        Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

        Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

      • My Library
      Live and Invest Overseas
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      Home Banking

      Where You Should Be Opening An Offshore Bank Account

      How To Choose Where To Open A Bank Account Overseas (And Why You Need One In The First Place)

      by Lief Simon
      Jun 15, 2020
      in Banking, How to, Offshore
      0 0
      beach at the cayman islands

      Image Source: iStock/sorincolac

      We’ve been reporting lately on your best choices for establishing alternative residency overseas… and why the right to live indefinitely in another country is a more urgent agenda right now than it’s been any time before in our lifetimes.

      Backup residency and second citizenship are two key components of any global diversification plan.

      A third is a bank account offshore.

      Why might you want a bank account in another country?

      Maybe because you’re planning to move to that country and need an account from which to pay your local bills…

      Maybe because you’re intending to invest in a rental property in that country and need an account into which to receive your tenants’ rent payments and, again, from which to pay related expenses…

      Maybe to support the start of a business overseas…

      Perhaps because you don’t like the idea of your available cash sitting 100% in U.S. banks… or all in U.S. dollars…

      Or perhaps because you’d like to diversify and expand your investment options, again, beyond U.S. markets.

      With everything going on in the world right now, more options for where to keep and how to access liquid assets are, like residency in another country, a critical priority.

      Your reasons for needing or wanting a bank account offshore help determine where best to open the account.

      If you’re intending to live or retire, either full- or part-time, in your chosen Shangri-la overseas, then, to state the obvious, that’s the place where you need a bank account. In this case, you’re talking about a personal operating account.

      Same goes if you’re purchasing a rental property in another country. You’ll need a personal operating account to support that investment. If the investment you plan is in a business, then you may need a corporate account.

      Things become less cut and dried when your agenda is to do with diversification of cash on hand, of currencies, and of your investment portfolio.

      If an offshore bank account is part of your asset protection and diversification plan, here are variables to consider… ways offshore banks compete and distinguish themselves:

      Required Minimum Investment

      Some Swiss investment banks require minimum deposits of as much as US$1 million or more to open an account. That doesn’t work for everyone.

      On the other hand, in Belize, for example, you can open an investment account with as little as US$1,000.

      Ability To Move Money Remotely

      This is a deal-breaker. What good will it do you to have an account with a bank in a foreign country that requires you to go into the bank in person to initiate a wire transfer?

      This is a critical factor to remember not only when choosing where to open your offshore bank account but also with regards to your U.S. bank. You need to be able to move money from your U.S. account to your foreign account and vice versa from anywhere in the world. You don’t want to have to fly back home to Nebraska to initiate a wire of funds to your new bank in Colombia.

      One U.S. bank in particular that we know does not allow the long-distance transfer of funds is Wells Fargo.

      Increasingly, though, the ability to send a wire remotely is a service supported by banks worldwide. In addition to confirming that you will be able to move money without showing up in person at the bank, ask for details concerning the bank’s remote-wire security systems. Some banks use emailed passwords; others use fobs or security tokens.

      Fees

      One consequence of FATCA and the U.S.’s current anti-money-laundering crusade has been a steady increase in the cost of banking offshore. Banks worldwide are passing on the cost of compliance and increasingly onerous know-their-client requirements to their customers, meaning, depending on the bank, monthly fees, report fees, and rising wire fees.

      Our top recommended offshore banking jurisdictions right now include:

      • Andorra
      • Cayman Islands
      • Cook Islands
      • Panama
      • Singapore

      The Cayman Islands are notable for their 500 banks with a collective US$3 to US$4 trillion on deposit.

      I’d like to leave you today with a homework assignment.

      Likely you’re already set up for online banking with your current U.S. bank. However, if you’re not, log on today to remedy that.

      Making sure you can access your current account and move money into or out of it remotely is an important first step toward expanding and diversifying your banking options, and it’s one that you can take from anywhere in the world, including your living room right now.

      Once you’re able to manage your current account online, you’re ready to diversify your banking options.

      Lief Simon

      Share96Tweet52
      Lief Simon

      Lief Simon

      Lief Simon has lived and worked in 7 countries on 5 continents and traveled to more than 75 countries. His real estate investment career began with a $5,000 down payment on a three-flat building in Chicago. Less than three years later, Lief sold the building for a leveraged return of 3,000%—$150,000 in profit after closing costs and commissions.

      From there, he turned his attention overseas and has bought property in 24 countries including France, Croatia, Portugal, Ireland, Belize, Spain, Argentina, Cyprus, Romania, and beyond. Thanks to his decades-long career as a global property investor, Lief has built a multi-million-dollar portfolio that includes rental properties, significant land holdings, and 7 personal residences.

      Lief has established residency in 3 countries and acquired a second passport from Ireland.

      In 2008 Lief and wife Kathleen Peddicord made the most important investment of their lives—a 215-acre oceanside finca, known as Los Islotes. There, on Panama’s largely undiscovered Veraguas coast, they’ve installed underground electricity, water, and internet and built a forever family home that sits at the heart of their ultimate vision: a gold standard private residential community for those in search of a true safe haven escape.

      Lief’s latest book, “Cowboy Millionaire—The New American Pioneer,” collects all the wisdom he has learned in three decades of living and investing outside America.

      He offers advice on international diversification in his twice-weekly Offshore Living Letter and monthly Simon Letter dispatches. For real estate investment opportunities, check out his monthly Global Property Advisor service.

      If you’d like to meet Lief in person, join him for one of our upcoming in-country conferences. You’ll find further details here.

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      HOME

      Top Countries

      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • Colombia
      • Cyprus
      • Mexico
      • France
      • Montenegro

      Best For:

      • Health Care Abroad
      • Retirement Living
      • Cost Of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Establishing Residency
      • Gun Ownership
      • English Speakers
      • Safety
      BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

      Budgets

      How Much Will It Cost
      To Live Overseas?

      Super Cheap

      • Chitré, Panama
      • Santa Marta, Colombia
      • Phuket, Thailand
      • Dumaguete, The Philippines

      Cheap

      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Kyrenia, Cyprus
      • Hua Hin, Thailand
      • The Algarve, Portugal

      Affordable

      • Valencia, Spain
      • Cascais, Portugal
      • Las Terrenas, The DR
      • Pisa, Italy
      • La Rochelle, France
      • Mazatlán, Mexico

      Luxury

      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Kotor, Montenegro
      • The Panama City Beaches
      • Paris, France

      Resources

      Global Living

      • Living & Retiring Overseas
      • Raising A Family Abroad
      • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
      • Offshore & Diversification

      Making Money

      • International Real Estate
      • Banking
      • Employment
      • Investing
      Meet Our Experts

      Real Estate

      Overseas Property Alert 

       

      How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams

      VISIT SITE

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      Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

      READ MORE

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      Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

      EXPLORE

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      Live and Invest In Spain Conference

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      DISCOUNT

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      PANAMA CITY, PANAMA Oct. 15-17, 2025
      LEARN MORE
      PRE-REGISTER

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      VIRTUAL Nov. 13, 2025
      LEARN MORE
      PRE-REGISTER
      MORE EVENTS

      Contact Our Events Team:

      Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
      1 (888) 627 8834

      From Outside North America:
      1 (443) 599 1221

      Working Hours
      Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

      Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

      Store

      Overseas Havens Reports

      • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

      Conference Kits

      • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

      Lahardan Books

      • Titles on living and investing around the world

      Services

      • Overseas Living Letter: Affordable Retirement Guidance
      • The Simon Letter: Wealth Protection Insights
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