Costs of Using a Non-Resident Bank Account

Discover the costs of opening and maintaining a non-resident bank account for wealth diversification and asset protection. Learn about intermediary fees, account setup costs, administrative expenses, and maintenance fees for a comprehensive understanding. Find your ideal solution with our guidance!

If you are looking for a respected non-resident institution that ensures top-notch banking services, focus on the cost of opening and maintaining. If you don’t know the figures, you cannot weigh all the pros and cons, choose a bank, or decide whether you need an offshore bank account. An offshore bank account is a really good instrument if used wisely, so let’s have a close look at it.

We are the International Wealth portal profs that set up plenty of accounts. We know all the ins and outs and will focus on them in this text. You may as well click on the link to our portal and glance through our in-depth offshore bank account opening guide. Don’t miss an opportunity to book a one-on-one session with our professionals to enjoy a hassle-free account setup and get any missing information.

Now, look at the costs incurred when you open an offshore bank account.

Non-Resident Account: Basic Considerations

Most people who wish to have a non-resident bank account set it up to fulfill the following objectives:

• Wealth diversification
• Take care of investment portfolio expansion
• Make sure assets are well-protected

You may have other goals and priorities as well. However, you need to be aware that offshore banking may differ greatly from your previous banking experience, and requirements for customers and initial deposit amounts may vary considerably.

It practically means that you need to find out all the information about the bank’s conditions and calculate the costs – or ask a specialist to develop a good solution to suit your needs. We will do our best to collect all the information our clients may reasonably need to make a decision.

You will find a lot of information online on offshore bank account openings. Nevertheless, we would like to caution you against the advertisements that guarantee setting up a foreign account within a few hours at a small price. Setting up an account does not come without an effort that should be remunerated; bank services provided afterward also cost something. We have direct contacts with many offshore banks to provide up-to-date options to customers.

Non-Resident Account Opening: Expenses

Make sure you have information about the following:

• Intermediary’s fee
• The cost of account setup
• Administrative or technical costs
• Account maintenance fees

These are the expenses incurred in 100% of cases, Of course, there are individual fees that each particular banking institution may charge, but we will always tell you about them if you choose a relevant bank.

Now let’s look at these four aspects in more detail.

Intermediary’s Fee

Why use an intermediary’s services if you can apply online? This is a good question. Let’s see how an intermediary can help you, and then you can decide what assistance you need.

An intermediary will help you solve different problems:

• First of all, some banks will not open an account without an in-person visit. However, if you have an agent in the required country, you can spare the hassle of flying, and the account will be opened online.
• You must usually talk to the bank manager before your account is approved. This requires time and preparation, and an intermediary is the one who can do it for you (or prepare you for the interview).
• Mistakes in the documents you file result in failure, which means you will have to correct them and submit them again. However, an agent will thoroughly check the whole package to ensure everything is in order and give you recommendations if something seems wrong.
• An intermediary guarantees the procedure goes smoothly and the approval is granted in 99% of cases, while independent efforts fail to bring the result much more often.

Now you can decide whether you need an agent representing your interests.

The Cost of Account Setup

First, you should know that there are two possible schemes: some banks will charge little at the account opening stage and require higher fees and commissions later on. The second scheme is the reverse: you pay a considerable sum for setup and enjoy low commissions for years ahead.

However, sometimes higher commissions will also mean faster and more secure transactions, so you must weigh all the advantages and drawbacks (and portal professionals conduct an in-depth market analysis to find the best options).

Anyway, you will usually need to bear the following costs to open an offshore bank account:

• An application processing fee (150 to 2,000 US dollars)
• Translation and certification of documents (notarization, apostilling, or any other required form of legalization)
• Costs of visiting the bank branch (if you decide to venture on your own)
• Express services to send the package of documents to the bank (originals need to be delivered in most cases) 

Administrative and Technical Costs

These costs are not directly associated with opening or maintaining a bank account so that they may become an unpleasant surprise. However, we are focused on giving complete information to our customers.

These costs depend on the destination where the bank is headquartered and could consist of the following:

• For example, you may need a registered address (in the European Union) where the bank will send documents and bank cards.
• It is usually better to buy a local SIM card: it will help you activate your account and use a mobile app to control it.
• You will pay the cost of cards/documents delivery by the bank.
• You may be obliged to pay some taxes in your actual domicile for possessing a non-resident bank account (and you’d better find it out in advance).

Account Maintenance Fees

A foreign bank account requires timely payments to ensure it is functioning:

• Monthly maintenance ranges from 0 to 1,000 US dollars
• Outgoing payments are not free
• Conversion between currencies is fee-based
• Remember that a non-active account doesn’t come for free, either!

Still, have any doubts about opening a non-resident bank account? Unsure whether you can find the best option available? Follow the above link, and we will find a solution together!