Open Offshore Bank Account for Foreign Companies

After establishing a foreign company, Individuals/Businesses always face the problem of opening a bank account to manage and transact business finances. However, choosing an Offshore bank account is not an easy task.

Opening a traditional offshore bank account or an offshore digital bank account also requires careful consideration and preparation of documents so that the process of opening a bank account is quick and smooth. In this article, GLA will provide detailed content:

• The process of opening an Offshore bank account for Foreign Individuals/Companies ensures a high success rate.
• Experience in choosing the right Offshore bank for Foreign Individuals/Companies.
• Why digital banking is the leading alternative to traditional bank accounts.

1. What is an Offshore Bank Account?

Offshore Banking for Foreign Individuals/Companies is a bank located in a country other than the account holder's country of residence:

Example

• Individual A resides in Hong Kong but opens a bank account in Singapore, then the Singapore bank account is called Individual A's Offshore bank account. 
• Company B established a company in BVI but opened a bank account in Singapore, then the Singapore bank account is Company B's Offshore bank account. 

2. Why should foreign enterprises choose to open an Offshore bank account?

Foreign enterprises should open an Offshore bank account for the following reasons:

• Asset protection: For some banks in offshore countries such as Singapore, there will be legal regulations to protect assets in bank accounts in offshore countries regardless of fluctuations in the bank's business or the national economic/political situation. 
• Bank account information security: At some Offshore banks, the confidentiality of bank account information is protected and ensures international transparency standards and anti-money laundering regulations. 
• Ensuring safety and risk dispersion: Individuals/Businesses opening an Offshore bank account will help ensure financial security, cash flow is distributed in many places, avoiding being heavily affected by inflation and currency devaluation when concentrated in the country of residence/company establishment. 
• Investment savings with high interest rates: Individuals/Businesses opening Offshore accounts can choose banks with investment forms and interest rates higher than domestic banks. 

3. Types of Offshore Banks and Bank Accounts?

Individuals/Businesses who decide to open an Offshore bank account should know about the types of Offshore bank accounts. Regarding Offshore banks, there are 2 types of banks you can consider:

• Traditional banking in Offshore countries (Singapore, Hong Kong, USA, etc.) such as: Citi Bank, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, UOB, OCBC, etc.
• Digital bank in Offshore countries (Singapore, Hong Kong, USA, etc.) licensed in the governing countries. 

2 main types of Offshore bank accounts for Individuals/Businesses:

• Checking Account: This is the most popular account for Individuals/Businesses using Offshore bank accounts. Individuals/Businesses owning payment accounts can use it to transfer/receive money through online transactions, withdraw money at ATMs with debit cards,
• Savings Account: This is an account for the purpose of saving and earning interest. The deposit period can be 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months. However, individuals/businesses should note that when withdrawing deposits before the maturity date, they will lose the savings interest rate.

4. Offshore bank account opening process

The process of opening an offshore bank account for foreigners will include:

Businesses can refer to the process of opening a bank account in Singapore, Hong Kong, the US, etc.:

• Procedure for opening a bank account for foreigners in Singapore.
• Procedures for opening a bank account for foreigners in Hong Kong.
• Procedures for opening a bank account for foreigners in the US.

You are wondering about the success rate of opening an offshore bank account for your business. 

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5. How does GLA support businesses in opening offshore bank accounts?

GLA has experience in supporting businesses in establishing offshore companies (BVI, Belize, Seychelles, etc.) open an online bank account for an offshore company in Singapore, the US will accompany the Enterprise:

• Choose an online bank or physical bank that suits your needs and business model.
• Register, open, verify bank accounts for offshore companies.
• Contact the bank to support issues in the process of preparing procedures and documents to register an online bank account for the enterprise's offshore company.
• Provide other services such as: tax reporting - accounting - finance for offshore companies.
• Register, authenticate, open international payment gateways such as: PayPal, Stripe, etc.

6. Experience in choosing the most suitable Offshore bank for your business

Choosing the best bank account for an Offshore company is only appropriate for each business model and the needs of different businesses.

To choose an online bank suitable for an Offshore company, businesses should consult with experts to find solutions and handle situations promptly during the process of registering and using an online bank account.

GLA with a team of experienced consultants will support offshore companies to open online bank accounts in a complete package, from choosing an online bank to the process of preparing documents, registering, opening, and verifying online bank accounts.

The following are GLA's experiences for offshore businesses opening online bank accounts. 

When a business establishes an Offshore company and needs to choose a bank to register an online bank account, it needs to pay attention to the following factors:

• Banks are licensed and regulated in the country where they are headquartered. (For example, online banks in Singapore must be licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
• Online bank with good reputation and stable finances.
• Does online banking support multi-currency transactions with online bank accounts for offshore companies?
• Service fees: deposit fee, transfer fee, account maintenance fee.
• Is customer support and care service fast and professional?

Before deciding to open an Offshore bank account, Individuals/Businesses should look at the list of Offshore banks in Singapore, Hong Kong, USA, etc. to have a comprehensive view of the bank to open. See the list now with GLA's exclusive traditional and digital banking comparison tool. 

7. Why is Offshore Digital Banking the leading alternative to traditional bank accounts?

Offshore digital bank accounts are an alternative to traditional banks because:

• Business accounts do not cost as much to open and maintain as traditional bank accounts: no initial deposit required, no minimum balance required like traditional banks.
• Fast digital bank account opening time: digital bank account opening time is only 3-5 days, much faster than traditional bank accounts (from 3 - 5 months).
• Multi-currency with just 1 digital bank account: a variety of strong currencies such as USD, HKD, SGD, etc., easily make cross-border payments with flexible domestic or international payment costs with just 1 bank account.
• While Offshore Companies wait for a successful traditional bank account opening, digital bank accounts are the leading alternative to traditional bank accounts.

8. Frequently asked questions when opening an Offshore bank account

Highlights

• Offshore bank account is a Personal/Business bank account opened outside the country where the Individual resides or the Business establishes the company.
• Physical bank accounts and digital bank accounts are popular choices for Individuals/Businesses opening Offshore bank accounts. 
• Foreign physical (media) bank accounts take 3-5 months to open, require a minimum deposit balance, and have higher account opening and maintenance fees than digital bank accounts.