If you’re looking to open an account with the best bank for expats, you’ve come to the right place.
The best banks for expats offer lucrative benefits and can save you a great deal on foreign exchange rates and transaction fees.
Of course, how easy or difficult it will be to open an account with the best bank for expats will depend on a few key variables. Including where you choose to open, your preferred banking services, and the benefits you’re after.
However, if you take the time to properly prepare an account opening strategy and know where your client profile will be accepted, you will significantly increase your chances of successfully opening an account. Which can save you significant time and money both in the short and long term.
Read on to find out more about how you can find and open an account with the best bank for expats.
How to Open an Account With the Best Bank for Expats?
To open an account with the best bank for expats, you first need to be clear on your banking needs. Including, the products and services you require and the benefits you want to unlock. Read on for how to choose the best bank for expats and what challenges you will need to overcome to successfully open an account.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about opening an account with the best bank for expats.
Including the features you should look for when choosing a bank, the top banking jurisdictions you should consider, and the account opening challenges you may face in the process of opening an account.
Here’s a look at everything we’ll cover in this article…
Table of Contents:
- Benefits of Opening the Best Bank for Expats
- What is the Best Bank for Expats?
- Challenges of Opening the Best Bank for Expats
- Where to Open the Best Bank for Expats?
But, before diving in, if this is your first time visiting GlobalBanks, don’t forget to download your FREE Non-Resident Banking Starter Guide. It’s designed to help non-residents open accounts in top banking hubs around the world.
Benefits of Opening the Best Bank for Expats
The best banks for expats are designed for individuals specifically living their life internationally. And, although there are many banking jurisdictions expats can choose from, the trick is in choosing the right one for your specific needs. And, your client profile.
That’s why the first thing you need to do is be clear on the specific benefits you want to unlock before you begin applying.
Doing this can help to ensure you only apply to banks that offer the products, services, and benefits you’re after.
So, with that in mind, let’s look at some of the benefits you can unlock when you open an account with the best bank for expats.
Benefits of Opening the Best Bank for Expats:
- Diversify your assets with multiple bank accounts
- Access to multi-currency accounts
- Broader access to investment products you don’t have in your country of residence
- Remote account opening (varies by bank)
- Access to specific transfer services
- Convenience if you often travel abroad
- Asset protection from political & economical issues in your home country
- And more…
As you can see, opening an account with the best bank for expats can offer many benefits.
Of course, the benefits available to you will highly depend on which banking jurisdiction you choose to open in. Not to mention, your client profile, banking needs, and whether or not you can meet all of the banks’ requirements.
With that in mind, here’s what you should be looking for to find the best bank for expats…
What is the Best Bank for Expats?
First things first, what does it take for us to consider a bank to be one of the best banks for expats?
In our opinion, the best banks for expats accommodate your lifestyle abroad and charge little to no fees on foreign transactions.
But these are just two of the things we look out for when selecting the best banks for our clients.
To help you get started, here’s a breakdown of the key features you should be looking for when choosing a bank to open with as an expat.
Features to Consider When Choosing the Best Bank for Expats:
- Low to no ATM withdrawal fees
- Accesible ATM locations
- Accessible online user experience
- Low to no transaction fees
- Low to no maintenance account fees
- Attractive credit card rewards
- No minimum account balance required
- Low to no account opening deposit required
- Competitive interest rates
- Integrations with various mobile apps
- Attractive currency exchange rate
These are the things you will find in the perfect bank for expats. Note, though that not all of these features may be accessible in all banking jurisdictions. And, some things may not be accessible to your client profile.
So, before applying, it’s crucial to understand which features and services are most important to you and what things are possible. This way you will be better equipped to analyze banks and pick the one most suitable for you..
Once you have a good idea of what you’re looking for, the next step is to look at the banks’ account opening requirements and prepare yourself for the common challenges of account opening.
So with that said, let’s dive into the specific challenges you’ll need to overcome to successfully open an account with the best bank for expats.
Challenges of Opening the Best Bank for Expats
Finding and opening an account with the best bank for expats can be a challenge for many expat individuals. Especially, if you’re not sure where to open an account.
Increasingly, banks are implementing stricter account opening requirements and more complex due diligence procedures, making it harder and harder for expats to open expat bank accounts.
Mostly this is because expats fail to submit the proper required documentation, are unable to meet bank-specific requirements, and apply to the wrong banks.
Here’s a look at some of the other common challenges expats face when trying to open the best bank for expats.
Challenges of Opening the Best Bank for Expats:
As an expat, you can be…
- Restricted because of your country of residence
- Unable to find a bank that accepts expats
- Faced with higher minimum deposits
- Unable to meet strict account opening requirements
- Excluded from remote account opening for being an expat
- Unable to support the monthly account balance
- Stuck with high account fees
- Charged unexpectedly for foreign transaction fees
- Unable to provide an acceptable reason for wanting to open an account
- Denied due to inefficient supporting documents
- And more…
As you can see, there are many challenges to overcome in order to open an account with one of the best banks for expats. The challenges you face will obviously differ from another expat individual. However, it is possible to experience most (if not all) of these challenges if you’re not well prepared.
Ultimately, it all comes down to the specific bank you choose to open with.
So if you take the time to pick the right bank for you and to prepare for these common account opening challenges, you can save a lot of time, money and headache in the process of opening an expat bank account.
Not to mention, save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in foreign transaction fees over the subsequent years. You will also be able to access attractive investment products and many other benefits of having an account with the best bank for expats.
So, now that you know what to look out for when choosing a bank, how do you pick the best bank for you? It all starts with picking which banking jurisdiction to open an account in.
In the next section, we’ll cover the top three banking jurisdictions where expats can open the best bank accounts.
Where to Open the Best Bank for Expats?
In the sections above, we’ve covered the benefits you can unlock, the features to consider, and challenges you’re likely to face in the process of opening a bank account as an expat.
Understanding these factors is crucial to your account opening success, and they should play a key role in shaping your final decision on where to open a bank account as an expat.
Of course, many jurisdictions accept expats. However, the best banks for expats can be found in the following banking jurisdictions…
Open the Best Bank for Expats in the Isle of Man
The Isle of Man is a popular expat banking jurisdiction for many reasons. Primarily this is because, the Isle of Man offers economic stability, political certainty, and a culture of professionalism and accountability.
The jurisdiction also has a lot of experience working with expats, so banks will be very open to you and understanding of your needs as an expat. And required deposit amounts are typically lower here than in other jurisdictions.
To top it all off, there are even some banks where expats can open bank accounts 100% remotely in the Isle of Man. Of course, you need to know which bank and banker will do this for you. But, the important thing is that it’s possible.
If you’re interested in opening in the Isle of Man, we have you covered.
We outline the best bank for expats, including the best offshore accounts that are available to expats in our premium members-only report “Banking in the Isle of Man: Expat Banking Goes Mainstream”.
You can access this report immediately when you join GlobalBanks IQ.
Open the Best Bank for Expats in Singapore
Singapore is another popular banking jurisdiction for expats due to its excellent reputation and well-capitalized and rock-solid banks.
Singapore is an economically and financially stable jurisdiction, which has made it a very attractive banking option for many foreign individuals, non-resident businesses, and expats.
However, account opening here doesn’t come easy. In fact, without the right information, it can be extremely difficult to open an account with the best banks for expats. Not to mention, expensive if you try to open an account with the wrong bank.
That said, if you are properly prepared, you take time to understand the account opening challenges you’ll likely face, and can meet the bank-specific requirements, you can open an account with the best bank for expats in Singapore. But, you must know which bank, branch, and banker to speak with directly before applying.
So, to help you get started, we detail the entire account opening process for expats, including who can and cannot open here, how to successfully navigate the account opening challenges, and even how to open an account remotely in our premium members-only report “Banking in Singapore: Global Banking at Its Best (And How to Get in)”.
You can access this report immediately when you join GlobalBanks IQ.
Open the Best Bank for Expats in the US
Opening a US bank account is another great option for expats.
Not only are certain US banks more accepting of expat applicants than almost any other banking jurisdiction, but you can even open an account here without needing to provide proof of US ties or US residency.
And best of all, expats can even open bank accounts here 100% remotely (if done properly).
Of course, to successfully open an account with the best bank for expats in the US, you need to know which bank to apply to and be able to meet bank-specific requirements.
But rest assured, with the right account opening strategy, you can be sure to open a bank account in the US and benefit from the wide range of banking products and services the country offers. Including the ability to build US credit history, access the world’s best credit card rewards programs, and unlock services from some of the best banks in the world.
If you’re interested in learning how you can open an account with the best bank for expats in the US, look no further.
We share everything you need to know about how to open an expat bank account here, including the benefits you can unlock, and even how to open accounts remotely in our premium members-only report “US Banking for Non-Residents, Foreigners, & Int’l Businesses”.
You can access this report immediately when you join GlobalBanks USA.
The best bank for you as an expat ultimately comes down to your client profile, desired banking needs, and the benefits you’re after.
If none of these options is suitable for you, don’t worry. There are several other banking jurisdictions to consider.
So, if you’re ready to open an account with the best bank for expats today in any of these jurisdictions or even if you just want to learn more about your options, we can help. Here’s how…
Ready to Start Opening Accounts?
Whether you’re ready to open an account with the best bank for expats today or you’re just starting to explore your options, we can help.
GlobalBanks IQ gives you everything you need to start finding and opening accounts.
When you join GlobalBanks IQ, you immediately unlock the entire GlobalBanks Database of international banks. It’s home to 250+ banks in 50+ countries.
And, you get access to our library of premium (members-only) reports. These include proven account opening strategies, country-specific banking options, and lists of banks for specific client types.
Plus, you unlock our account opening checklists, dedicated account opening alerts, and much more.
To get started, click here to see if GlobalBanks IQ is the right choice for you.