The term “high earner” can vary widely depending on where you’re from and the specific financial services you’re looking to access. But, when it comes to international banking and finding the best high-earner bank accounts, there are prerequisites you’ll need to hit to fall into this category.
Typically, “high earner” refers to individuals who earn a high enough income to save and invest the majority of their monthly earnings. These individuals often benefit from more straightforward onboarding and unique banking services that come with banking as a high-income earner.
This usually includes people who still work either for themselves or in a high-paying professional position.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- High-income earners can access world-class banks and unlock wealth management services with an international and private bank account
- Opening deposit amounts can range from US$100,000 to $500,000
- Personal finance services available to you will depend on your client profile, deposit level, the type of bank account you open, and where you choose to open an account
- High-earner individuals can use international and private bank accounts to diversify their assets, unlock attractive loans, and access investment opportunities
In this article, we’ll discuss the topic of opening the best bank account for individuals who earn an income of at least US $300,000 per year before taxes. Not to mention, the type of banking services and products high earns can tap into.
If you don’t have that level of income, no problem. You’ll still be able to apply many of the lessons that we’ll share and benefit from the tactics outlined below.
If, however, you do earn US $300,000+ per year, congratulations!
Keep reading to learn how you can access world-class banks in a wide range of onshore and offshore jurisdictions that will help you achieve your banking and financial goals.
But first, if you’d like to get a head start on account opening as a high-income earning non-resident then download our FREE Non-Resident Banking Starter Guide right now!
Feel free to use the table of contents to jump ahead to the sections most relevant to you.
Table of Contents
- Best High-Earner Bank Accounts
- What’s Important to a High Earner?
- Banking Services to Expect as a High-Income Earner
- Where Should High-Income Earners Open Accounts?
- How to Open an Account as a High Earner
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Ready to Explore Your Options?
Best High-Earner Bank Accounts
There’s increasing concern that we might be on the verge of a global financial crisis. If that’s something you’re worried about, protecting your wealth by internationalizing your assets, cash, and bank accounts is something to consider.
Like many people, high earners are opening checking accounts, savings accounts, and even interest savings bank accounts in stable offshore banking jurisdictions. High earners are also rebalancing investments and moving savings into financial systems that they have more confidence in during an economic downturn.
But regardless of whether you think a financial crisis is on the horizon or not doesn’t really matter. It always makes sense to diversify your assets, upgrade your banking, and increase the benefits you receive from your banking and investment relationships.
What’s Important to a High Earner?
The question we’re answering isn’t how to help you make more money– but instead, how to best protect (and benefit from) the wealth you already have.
What you want to achieve with your banking relationships will largely depend on your personal finance goals. But, like most things, there are some ground rules that will point you in the right direction when getting started.
Most high-income earners are looking for three things: Protection of their wealth; Access to their money when they want it; and Specific banking services.
In the section below, we’ll discuss the specific services that you can and should expect from your banking relationships as a high-income earner. For now, let’s talk about safety, risks, and accessibility.
Safety for High-Income Earners
Safety isn’t having your money sitting in a vault somewhere. It’s minimizing the level of risk that your money will be exposed to.
Everyone’s risk tolerance is different. But when it comes to banking, there are a lot of risks that can impact your accounts.
After all, banks are managed by people. And, from time to time, people make errors, poor judgments, and sometimes even commit crimes. Shocking, we know.
Banking isn’t devoid of such risks. And recent cases in Europe would suggest this kind of behavior isn’t going anywhere fast.
But there are other risks that you need to consider such as financial risks…
Risks High-Income Earners Need to Consider
Remember: Banks only hold a small portion of customer deposits on hand. They loan out and invest the vast majority of customers’ money in order to generate revenue for their operations.
The same is true for central banks and deposit insurance schemes. Even though these entities present (or try to present) an outward image of “financial stability” they typically keep very little money on hand–certainly not enough to provide any meaningful support in a global financial meltdown.
With this in mind, a high earner should only open checking accounts, high-yield savings, or a traditional savings account with banks (and in countries) that match their risk tolerance and are reasonably insulated from these risks.
This means, looking for banks that are insulated from systemic risks and won’t expose a customer’s deposit to high-risk investing or poor lending practices.
While that might seem like a no-brainer, only a small number of banks actually operate in this way. And, chances are that your current bank (and those you’re considering) don’t operate like this either.
Then, there’s the accessibility factor. This is about accessing your bank account and money whenever and from wherever you see fit.
Accessibility for High-Income Earners
Accessibility can mean things like an online savings account or an interest savings account.
Being able to log into your online accounts while on vacation in Thailand and make incoming and outgoing transfers.
Executing transfers through online checking accounts without needing to take time from your day to physically visit a branch location.
Not getting “locked out” of your bank account simply because you logged in and checked your balance while traveling for business.
Ability to avoid bank account restrictions to a certain number of incoming or outgoing transfers each month.
Not having your bank account “frozen” just because you made a larger-than-normal transfer. And much more…
Access can become an even bigger issue if you choose a bank that doesn’t comply with international KYC and AML practices.
Such banks can accidentally find themselves at the center of massive scandals and compliance failures, making them particularly dangerous.
Customers can not only lose access to their money for months, but they may have to wait for years to regain access. Just look at what happened to ABLV Bank in Latvia in early 2018.
With this in mind, avoid banks with bad financials that are prone to compliance failures and regulatory scrutiny.
Fortunately, the banks that we consider suitable for a high earner won’t face most of these problems.
Banking Services to Expect as a High-Income Earner
Most high-earners typically look to make an opening deposit in the range of US $100,000 and US $500,000. This tells us a few important things about banking options and services for high earners.
First, you can access higher-quality banks with strong financials. These banks are managed conservatively and present a lower risk to your money.
The reason for this is that banks that cater to high earners operate different business models than the retail banks in the US, Canada, or Europe.
Such banks focus on generating meaningful returns for their customers. Lending practices (if any) are focused on high-quality assets and lenders, not toxic derivatives. And to top it off, liquidity and reserves are usually some of the highest in the world.
Secondly, the banks catering to high earners offer better perks, services, and more profitable investment products that can’t be found anywhere else.
Services and products vary widely across countries, banks, and even branches. Knowing which personal finance services are most important to you will narrow down which bank is best for your needs.
For instance, whether or not you require access to specific currencies or investment products will help you exclude a handful of traditional banking jurisdictions.
And choosing whether you would like to hold precious metals via your bank account will significantly scale back your options.
That said, these are all personal choices and you can be as specific or as general as your needs dictate.
Private Bank Accounts for High-Income Earners
When opening a bank account as a high-net-worth individual and making an initial deposit in the $100k+ range, you can expect more perks. This typically means higher quality customer service, a dedicated banker or account manager, wealth management services, and much more.
With private banking, you can expect a banker to manage your accounts, introduce you to unique private banking products, and try to sell you various services that you may or may not need.
As always, be wary, realize bankers earn a commission and keep a close eye on the fees that you’re being charged.
Finally, and this may already be clear, you are venturing into the world of either premiere banking or private banking.
The distinction between the two tiers can sometimes be blurry. But in this case, it will likely depend on which country your bank is in.
More established jurisdictions, such as Switzerland, Liechtenstein, or Austria may require an initial deposit of $500,000 or more. Comparatively, you can access the same services with only $100,000 to $250,000 deposit in places like Andorra, the UK, or the US.
Where Should High-Income Earners Open Accounts?
As discussed above, when it comes to opening a bank account as a high-income earner, you need to make sure that the bank, the bank account, and the banker all meet your requirements.
This means vetting the bank beforehand to make sure that it has the products you’re looking for, a fee structure that won’t bleed you dry, and the level of customer service that you require.
After all, you don’t want to be dealing with an account manager from a far-flung country who can’t speak English. Not to mention only receiving email responses once every three days.
With this in mind, we typically suggest that high-income earners look to make a deposit in the $100k+ range. And in almost all cases, a high-income earner will want to target options in Europe, North America, or Singapore.
We reference several jurisdictions below, but this list is by no means exhaustive.
In fact, you can find banks that offer options for high earners in almost any country… except maybe North Korea.
Choosing a Jurisdiction
Banks are always keen to attract high-income earners and those willing to make large deposit amounts.
So the question really becomes, which country (and then which bank) is best suited to your bank account needs, your economic outlook, and the level of safety that you desire?
If you’re interested in a traditional private banking experience and you’re after well-managed banks with strong balance sheets you might want to consider banking in a place like Switzerland or Liechtenstein. Just keep a close eye on the deposit amounts, rates, and fee structures..
Of course, you can access more modern private banking hubs for a lower initial deposit with similar benefits and services in jurisdictions like Andorra, Singapore, and even Panama.
Alternatively, if you’re interested in a lower initial deposit, premium credit cards with travel benefits, and access to US stock markets you might be interested in opening a bank account in the US.
How to Open an Account as a High Earner
If you’re ready to open a bank account now, GlobalBanks has published banking intelligence reports on Andorra, Singapore, Panama, and more to help high-income earners just like you access great traditional and private banking options in each of these countries.
These reports give you everything you need to open accounts right now, including..
- Direct contact information for English-speaking bankers
- Customer reviews and real-life experiences from people just like you
- Specific hacks and strategies to open accounts and access the best banks
- Easy to digest bank profiles for pre-vetted banks
- Little-known bank services and benefits that only Insiders know to ask for
- You also get real-time analyst support to answer your questions and help you open checking and savings accounts in your desired jurisdiction
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are two common questions that we receive from people looking for the best high-earner bank accounts. If you have further questions you would like answered, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us directly.
What Bank Do Millionaires Put Their Money In?
High-income earners and millionaires tend to look at opening accounts with private banks in stable jurisdictions. Private banking tends to offer superb, wealth management services, attractive loans, unique investment products, and higher-interest savings accounts.
Do High Earners Have Multiple Savings Accounts?
Often times high earners will look to open accounts in multiple jurisdictions for cash management purposes. In other words, to diversify their assets, protect their wealth, and access safer jurisdictions. The jurisdictions available to you will depend on your deposit level, the investment products you’re after, and the type of bank account you want to open.
Ready to Explore Your Options?
If so, you can access GlobalBanks Insider and start the process of applying for an offshore account in a few clicks.
GlobalBanks Insider is a dedicated account opening solution that involves direct support from our team and direct introductions to the banks of your choosing. It gives you instant access to the…
+ Direct support from a team of banking experts
+ Direct introductions to your desired banks
+ Answers to your most pressing questions and challenges
+ Expert insights on which banks to choose & why
+ Plus FULL access to our entire suite of account opening tools and intelligence!
And “yes!” GlobalBanks Insider is designed to help foreign and non-resident individuals and companies open bank accounts.
You can learn more on the products page from the main menu above.
