You can use offshore banking services in a number of ways. You can deposit your money in the UK. You may open a completely anonymous, or not-for-identity account. You can also deposit money in any of the many other countries that are represented by the various foreign banks and go through all of the usual transactions normal in a domestic account.
You can withdraw the money whenever you like. You can also open a higher interest rate foreign account with another bank and make your money grow. There are various charges associated with your offshore account such as the daily reporting charges for not-in-listed customers. You also have charges that are non-negotiable or at least less than other banks.
You can get mortgages for offshore accounts. You can find offshore providers who will lend you money at a higher rate than most banks. However, these loans are not typically reported to or stored in the same way as your domestic accounts. This means that while you have an offshore account you are not required by the banks or by law to report international accounts.
This means that the bank or building society will not try to get the money you hold in your domestic accounts at any time. You can still have the same access to the funds in your offshore account that you would normally enjoy. You can have multiple accounts in different banks or building societies and still have instant access to all of your funds. You can also transfer funds (hot to your account other banks or institutions).
After you open an offshore account you need to deposit a minimum of thousand pounds. If you don’t the account will be disabled. If you don’t have the minimum balance you will need to wait until the account is validated by the bank or building society.
If you don’t pick a name for your account you will have a number that will be used for identification purposes. If you don’t want this then you are required to set it up from scratch when you open your account.
If you don’t want to open a debit or a savings account at the same time you will need to set up them separately. You can apply for as many bank accounts as you wish as long as they are all in the same name. You can also apply for more accounts if this is something you wish. The main thing to remember is that you are not required by the banks to open an offshore account in their name.
Of course, the banks usually charge more than you would be paying in the UK or at home. So you can also be charged more than if you were living in the UK. Most UK banks charge about one per cent of the account value for opening a foreign bank account.
You can open up an offshore account quickly either online or by telephone. If you want to open up your account by telephone you will have to give your full name, your account number together with an opening balance, I.D. number and any password that you want your banker to have access to. You will also need to provide something to prove your identity. This can also be a passport or driving license. You should also have at least three valid references.
You can arrange any money transfer into another account easily. However, unless can pay the money into your account you will not be able to use it until it is transferred into your main account. If you can pay the money into your main account immediately you will have to pay a fee of about ten per cent to set up any money transfer.
If you don’t have a £10,000 offshore bank account the first time you request an account opening there is a £300 processing fee and a £100 annual checking fee. If you don’t have more than £10,000 you can short pay your account every year when the sum exceeding that stated amount is added to your account. If you set up several accounts relating to the same account you can short charge accounts with a fee of up to £400.
If you don’t need access to offshore cash or you just want to save tax, not make a lump sum off your account and not fund your lifestyle, then an offshore cash ISA may be the way to go.