Can I have a savings account in another country?

[silver912e]

OK, I know next to nothing about money, except it takes a fair amount to keep my car running. So, is it possible to open a savings account in another country to take advantage of the exchange rate, and as a hedge against an economic meltdown here?

[frogger]

I hear it's OK in Nigeria.

[John_AZ]

silver912e,

Unusual for me to advise www.toytowngermany.com twice in one day but if you want to know more about savings accounts or other finance stuff try it. Head to chat forum-Germany themes-then finance. Read a few topics. I think the best way is to have a Citibank USA account and transfer money to a German savings account. Not sure.
Most of the Pelican parts I'm buying, OE Porsche, are made in Hungary or ???.
Good luck

John_AZ

[911Rob]

I have an American US Funds account right in my Canadian bank.

You can have offshore accounts in the Islands or Switzerland for sure.

[LakeCleElum]

I have a friend in Australia whose wife is a banker. She said not problem at all. The bank would withhold 10% of any earning for AU taxes and it's up to me to report the rest of the profit to the IRS.

In this age of computers, I wouldn't be surprised if the IRS knew w/o my report?

[the]

Originally Posted by silver912e

OK, I know next to nothing about money, except it takes a fair amount to keep my car running. So, is it possible to open a savings account in another country to take advantage of the exchange rate, and as a hedge against an economic meltdown here?

Pls explain how you think that would help you "take advantage of the exchange rate" when buying parts.

You take your US dollars. You send them to a bank in Germany. The bank converts the dollars to Euros at the current exchange rate. You buy parts with the Euros.

How does that take advantage of the exchange rate???

Outside of buying parts, if you just want to trade currency because you think the dollar will go up or down vis a vis other currencies, or you want to have other currencies in case of an economic meltdown of the US dollar, you can do that without having an account in a foreign country.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts

It's easier to just invest in a mutual fund that invests Internationally...

-Wayne

Yes ... and no.

Mutual Funds are notorious for the fees that they charge, Please check the prospectus carefully. Management Fees, Incentive Fees, Transaction Fees, Entry Fees, Exit Fees. Mutual Funds are all about FEES.

Also if you are taking the view that the US$ will continue to slide - then do not buy a European mutual fund denominated in US$. The fund may do well - but you will still get devalued US$.

Yen, Euro, Sterling. That's the way to go.

[Wickd89]

you have to report any interest income. Wink wink...

[John_AZ]

It is a long play but if you did buy British Pounds around 2001 the pound was worth about $1.50 US. The rate today is over $2.00. Some British Banks will only offer depositors .25% interest or less on amounts less than $50,000 US. Fees will take that pittance. No interest return but better exchange rate.
BP to US$ could reverse as well.

If you did have a lot of cash to deposit/transfer overseas, the federal government would probably put you on the Homeland Security watch and the airports would make you dance like a monkey.

John_AZ

[svandamme]

as far as i know, within the EU you can't open any account as a foreign national with no residence in the EU


Swiss is not part of the EU though, but not part of the Euro monitary gang either,
and although i'm sure you can park Euro's there, i'm not sure you can easely withdraw them via either card or wire transfer payment


things got a lot more strict because of 9/11 as well, so a lot of loopholes have been closed

[svandamme]

sure Joe, but did they have a residence in the EU or not?

i'm pretty sure you have to show proof of residence in the country of the bank.

When i moved to the Netherlands, i had to show proof of residence, in the Netherlands before the bank would open a Dutch account for me, and i was an EU citizen, my Belgian ID card was not enough.

It's not enough , to travel to the EU, go to a bank ,and ask for an account with just your US passport

in The Netherlands (and i'm sure other EU countries have similar requirements), they ask 3 things
- proof of registration in the municipality where you live
- some paperwork of the employer
- sofi number ( Dutch social security number )

non EU citizens also have to produce a residence/work permit

Netherlands
https://www.abnamro.nl/nl/prive/pakketten/prive_pakket/f_aanvragen_nieuw.html

"
Verklaring

* Ik ben minimaal 18 jaar.
* Op de rekening zal EUR 1000,- of meer per maand binnenkomen.
* Ik woon in Nederland.
* Ik heb de Nederlandse of een EU-nationaliteit, of een permanente verblijfsvergunning.
* Ik ga akkoord met toetsing en registratie bij Bureau Krediet Registratie (alleen bij kredietaanvrage
"


Belgium
https://www.kbc.be/IPA/D9e01/~N/~KBC/~BZIR8IQ/-BZIQJDK/~-BZKGXHJ

Voorwaarden aanvraag

*
U bent meerderjarig.
*
U hebt domicilie in België.
*
U wenst een rekening te openen voor privédoeleinden

France
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=28&story_id=3749

To open an account with any bank, you will need to provide:

—personal identification (a residence permit or passport)
—proof of your home address in France (a phone or electricity bill or rental agreement)
—in most cases, some written proof of earnings (pay slip or other) to decide the limit of any overdraft

UK
http://www.euro-ls.com/?object.content/action.view/id.18=
* Passport
* School Acceptance/ Job Offer Letter
* Proof of your home address
* Proof of UK address, usually in the form of a utility bill or Halls of Residence contract.

[John_AZ]

svandamme & others,

I did not fully read the application for UK Citibank US Dollar Reward Saver account- http://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/saveinvest/saving/fsaver/usdfsaver.htm?source=3649&merchant=citi,

but it does appear that US Citizens can apply if they fill out form W-9. (Move way down)
https://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/customerinfo/otherinformation/documentlibrary/app_cur.pdf.

Am I mistaken?

John_AZ

[Neilk]

Joe,

I hope you pay US taxes on your foreign accounts. That would be the legal thing to do...

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by John_AZ

svandamme & others,

I did not fully read the application for UK Citibank US Dollar Reward Saver account- http://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/saveinvest/saving/fsaver/usdfsaver.htm?source=3649&merchant=citi,

but it does appear that US Citizens can apply if they fill out form W-9. (Move way down)
https://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/customerinfo/otherinformation/documentlibrary/app_cur.pdf.

Am I mistaken?

John_AZ

interesting, the W-9 is as far as i can tell just a tax thing, so the IRS is informed about your financials abroad

( i think the US is one of few countries that keeps taxing people even if they don't live in the US, and keeps taxing as long as they hold the passport, although they won't tax on top of what the country you live in taxes, if they tax more then the US would have taxed )

i'm sure the W-9 applies for folks who live anywhere outside the US and do any type of banking

haven't been able to find anything that says you have to live in the UK to get this citybank account, but i find it odd, that the selectiong box in the application let's you choose just about any country in the world including Afghanistan and Iraq...with all the security , surely they won't let the Taliban open up accounts just like that???

but hey, feel free to try opening one online, or even in the UK , without being a resident of the UK... i'm curious to find out if that works... my gut says it won't work due to EU regulations... i could be wrong offcourse, i'm no banker

[svandamme]

just had another look at the citybank stuff

they offer different things for international playa's
not the regular bank accounts like i'm using now , but intended for wire transfers and Visa like debet cards only...

cool stuff, probably something like what Wayne could use as he indicated in that other thread... but they won't do the same thing as my card does, the card won't be accepted in the regular shops where they have card thingies, just in Cash points, and maybe in shops that take Visa/MC and the likes..

it's probably a workaround to the EU law, and they have things go through their citibank offices in the country of residence...

[John_AZ]

Svandamme,
Thanks for the review.
OOT-spent a week riding de Kusttram in Sept. Flanders and surrounding area very pleasant.

John_AZ

[svandamme]

OOT??

did you by any chance visit Ypres? no Kusttram here, it's about 50 km from Veurne more inland

[MRM]

The short answer is yes, but why would you want to? You can buy currency, shorts, puts, the whole works if you want to invest in other denominations without leaving the US. You can buy Pacific, Euro or South American mutual funds, or you can invest in 3M which gets over half its revenue from overseas. Or you can just buy gold and get the same effect as buying another currency.

[the]

Originally Posted by MRM

The short answer is yes, but why would you want to? You can buy currency, shorts, puts, the whole works if you want to invest in other denominations without leaving the US.

Why would you want to, of course, that's the question I asked earlier, but no one has ever addressed, and instead gone babbling on about whether you can or can't.

The guy who posted the question isn't interested in investing in other currency. He was under the mistaken notion that if he transferred some money into an account in Germany, he could then "take advantage" of the weak dollar/exchange rate when buying Porsche parts in Germany.

Of course, he failed to take into account that even if he could do it, it wouldn't work because when he transferred his US dollars into the German account, and the German bank converted those dollars into Euros, he would not get 1 Euro per US dollar.

So even if he could do it, it wouldn't work, i.e., it wouldn't "take advantage" of the exchange rate in any way.

But, carry on anyways.

[John_AZ]

svandamme,
OOT-my language relativism for Off Off Topic.
Ypres, not enough time. Veurne yes, has quiet courtyard off main square.
Thanks again. (now where is my cup of Gluhwein?-enjoy)

John_AZ





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