Non resident international banking

Pedro Gomes
2 min readMay 24, 2023

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Multi currency banking options for the busy globe-trotter expatriate.

Traditional banking:

Isle of Man is a popular destination for expat international non resident banking, with small deposit requirements and multi currency accounts.

If you spend a few minutes going through TrustPilot you might find that traditional banking is riddled with problems and most of these banks have a rating of < 2 stars out of 5. See HSBC where 80% reviews give it 1 star only. https://www.trustpilot.com/review/expat.hsbc.com

US can be surprisingly a good option for foreigners looking for non-resident banking with USD accounts. Other banks like Chase may also accept non residents but you’ll need to go in person and inquiry.

US is not member of CRS, and will not share your information with overseas tax authorities.

Singapore is an international financial hub, with excellent reputation and strong banking system. Requirements are more stringent and demanding. Expect deposit requirements ranging from 250k to 1M.

  • UOB
  • DBS

Alternative accounts:

Puerto Rico, the “independent US territory”, has quite a few banking options that offer USD banking with easier access and online sign up.

Neobanks/fintechs:

  • (transfer) Wise: one of the best options, too good to be true really, accepts residents from “all over the globe”, no monthly fees, multiple currency, (commonly) instant/fast payments, excellent FX rates.
  • Xapo Bank: new crypto bank option from Gibraltar, currently they offer 4.1% interest on USD deposits and 1% for bitcoin. No minimum deposits, but anual fee of 150$, A deposit of 4k would generate enough interest revenue to cover that. https://xapo.com

Note: Currently USD deposits/withdraws are disabled (they were probably using Signature or Silvergate in US which got shutdown), but it’s currently being worked on. Probably good to follow for updates in the coming months.

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