Off-Shore Account
CURRENT ACCOUNT
A Current Account is the most common type of foreign bank account. It is themost popular one because it gives you the most flexibility in managing yourmoney. It allows you to withdraw all or part of your account balance at anytime.
Most Current Accounts pay interest on your balance. You can maintain yourCurrent Accounts in U.S. Dollars, or you can have your money invested in anynumber of foreign currencies. Some offshore banks offer “multi-currency”privileges. You can deposit monies in one type of currency and withdrawfunds in another currency. Most current accounts also provide you withchecking privileges, and with the proliferation of ATMs, some offshore bankswill even provide you with an electronic banking card. The most popularelectronic banking card being issued by ofshore banks is the “Eurocard”.
DEPOSIT ACCOUNT
A deposit account is similar to a time-deposit or CD in the US. It is aninterest-earning savings account that you open with a bank in a foreigncountry.
The rates of interest offered to Deposit Accounts vary according to thecurrency of the account and the length of time for which the money isdeposited. The longer the money is deposited, the higher the interest rate.Aside from the legth of the deposit, the size of the deposit also helpsdetermine the interest rate. Most deposit accounts require a minimum depositof $2,500 or more.
Deposit accounts are not as liquid as current accounts, and you may beprevented from withdrawing your money for a period of time. As with acurrent account, you will receive a semiannual statement of the account’sactivity.
NUMBERED ACCOUNT
Also knows as the “invisible account”, this type of service is popular inSwitzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Mexico, all of which provide NumberedAccounts. The basic difference with conventional bank accounts is that anumbered account is an account identified by a number, rather than by thename of the account holder. As a result, it provides a certain amount ofprotection and privacy, especially if bank records or passbooks are lost orstolen. It is important to remember what a numbered account is not: anumbered account doesn’t mean that no one at the bank knows who the realaccount holder is. It just means that clerks at the bank who handle dataentry or clerical transactions will not know your identity.
SAFEKEEPING ACCOUNT
This service is just like a safety deposit box account in any bank. You getthis type of account to deposit such things as bonds, stocks, and other valuables.
But it also has an added feature. If you have coupons that you redeem, thebank will do it for you. They will clip the coupons, redeem the bonds, and dowhatever needs to be done with the valuables entrusted to them.
COMMODITIES ACCOUNTSome of the larger foreign banks have geared themselves up to trade incommodities on your behalf. These banks are set up to give you the latestcommodities prices, and to let you buy and sell commodities over the phone.Compared to US banks that still cannot enter the commodoties trade market,this is proof of how offshore banks are becoming more and more competitive.
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