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Conspiracy Theory time: The US of A is striking on big international banks to monopolize the international and offshore banking sector. As of right now, it's p

by csomar 6y ago

Conspiracy Theory time: The US of A is striking on big international banks to monopolize the international and offshore banking sector. As of right now, it's pretty much impossible to open a bank account anywhere in the world without being a resident in said country. There is also FATCA and FinCen which reports to America. There are also strict KYC/AML rules for opening an account and transferring funds. The Swiss "bank account" is no longer a thing. Except for the big guys who, until now, still enjoy a nice playground. But these times might be coming to an end. Compare this to the US: You can open a bank account easily, with no documentation, and it doesn't really take that much. At least for me, it worked from the first bank. Documentation? Just your passport. US address? You can use any address and you don't need to live there. Unsecured Credit Card? Yep, and if you pay up your balance monthly they'll increase your credit limit without asking. Trading stocks? No probs, just fill your taxes. Crypto? It's also okay with several US banks. I personally know one person who just moved to the US, made a transfer of $250k from an HSBC account in a foreign middle-east country and WF didn't ask any questions. Compare this to the EU where Paysera recently froze my account because I made a 1.000euro transfer.

pingec 6y ago
My experience is the same in EU. If you or your company is not a resident in the country then the bank will just not want to have anything to do with you "because of too much FATCA paperwork and other requirements by US". I wonder how much this weighs down EU companies as there is no real competition in the banking industry across countries and you are kinda limited to what banks in your country offer you while still competing in the same EU market. And the disadvantage is probably even higher compared to entities with US banking.
- csomar 6y ago
  It's funny how people often cite the EU banking system as more advanced than the US because it has instant SEPA transfers. From my experience the EU banking infrastructure is both a joke and a pain in the ass compared to the US. And yes indeed, the EU doesn't want you as a client unless you live next to the branch.
  - afurculita 6y ago
    Ok. What's your experience?
  - jnknjknkjn 6y ago
    From my experience in France everything was very bureaucratic. A few examples: If you need to see someone clerks from the bank don't know how to do anything and so any slightly complex operation they would need to call someone from a call center who knew how to deal with it. And usually you needed to take an appointment at least one week in advanced to see a counselor. You also can not go to any bank office to manage your accounts, you need to be registered in a particular bureau and if you needed to do anything you can only do it at this particular bureau. Everything requires a lot of negotiation and guiding bureaucrats. Most of the user service its done through the phone and you need to pay for the call.
ashleyn 6y ago
> The Swiss "bank account" is no longer a thing. Except for the big guys who, until now, still enjoy a nice playground. But these times might be coming to an end. It's now called "crypto". Bitcoin/altcoins may go up in value dramatically as banks crack down on financial crime.
programmertote 6y ago
How did you open a bank account in the US (esp. as a foreigner) without having to show at least the passport and valid visa? In my experience helping a couple of fresh/new immigrants (on student visa) get their bank accounts opened recently at Chase, it's much tougher than what you are describing. I wonder if what you said is not longer true. I myself even had to call both Citi and Capital One to verify my legal residency status to them for having their credit cards. Banks in the US are catching up to this it seems. Your friend who moved 250K from HSBC to WF, I wouldn't be surprised if s/he is now being monitored by the US intelligence.
- csomar 6y ago
  > How did you open a bank account in the US (esp. as a foreigner) without having to show at least the passport and valid visa? If you re-read my comment you'll see that I mentioned that they only ask for my passport. This was, roughly, 1.5 years ago. > In my experience helping a couple of fresh/new immigrants (on student visa) get their bank accounts opened recently at Chase I don't know much about banking in the US but enough to not go to Chase or Citi. Try TD Bank. Also, I think it's more about the branch than the bank itself; so I might just have lucked out from a first attempt. > I myself even had to call both Citi and Capital One to verify my legal residency status to them for having their credit cards. When I signed up, the agent told me that I can't have unsecured cards without an SSN or an ITIN from the US embassy in my country. But then they released the funds, so not sure what happened in between. > Your friend who moved 250K from HSBC to WF, I wouldn't be surprised if s/he is now being monitored by the US intelligence. Nope. That's not really how intelligence works. Also he's pretty legit, it's just that he opened and transferred funds before settling in the US which should have made him suspicious at the time. It was two years ago and he has been employed since with a good job/status.
A4ET8a8uTh0 6y ago
There is definitely something off about this article's timing. It is clearly designed to create outrage and contains weird factual errors about SARs, PEPs, and BSA in general. Granted, a lot of this stuff is not common knowledge partly due to associated secrecy, partly due to most of it happening behind scenes, but the actual law and interpretations are on the books and not secret, so it is hard for me not to judge it more harshly. So what does that mean? Article is purposefully trying to sound more clickbaity than necessary to sell the story. For the record, there are some real issues with SARs and BSA, but the article mentioned none of them.

by csomar 6y ago

pingec 6y ago

My experience is the same in EU. If you or your company is not a resident in the country then the bank will just not want to have anything to do with you "because of too much FATCA paperwork and other requirements by US". I wonder how much this weighs down EU companies as there is no real competition in the banking industry across countries and you are kinda limited to what banks in your country offer you while still competing in the same EU market. And the disadvantage is probably even higher compared to entities with US banking.

csomar 6y ago
It's funny how people often cite the EU banking system as more advanced than the US because it has instant SEPA transfers. From my experience the EU banking infrastructure is both a joke and a pain in the ass compared to the US. And yes indeed, the EU doesn't want you as a client unless you live next to the branch.
- afurculita 6y ago
  Ok. What's your experience?
- jnknjknkjn 6y ago
  From my experience in France everything was very bureaucratic. A few examples: If you need to see someone clerks from the bank don't know how to do anything and so any slightly complex operation they would need to call someone from a call center who knew how to deal with it. And usually you needed to take an appointment at least one week in advanced to see a counselor. You also can not go to any bank office to manage your accounts, you need to be registered in a particular bureau and if you needed to do anything you can only do it at this particular bureau. Everything requires a lot of negotiation and guiding bureaucrats. Most of the user service its done through the phone and you need to pay for the call.

ashleyn 6y ago

> The Swiss "bank account" is no longer a thing. Except for the big guys who, until now, still enjoy a nice playground. But these times might be coming to an end. It's now called "crypto". Bitcoin/altcoins may go up in value dramatically as banks crack down on financial crime.

programmertote 6y ago

How did you open a bank account in the US (esp. as a foreigner) without having to show at least the passport and valid visa? In my experience helping a couple of fresh/new immigrants (on student visa) get their bank accounts opened recently at Chase, it's much tougher than what you are describing. I wonder if what you said is not longer true. I myself even had to call both Citi and Capital One to verify my legal residency status to them for having their credit cards. Banks in the US are catching up to this it seems. Your friend who moved 250K from HSBC to WF, I wouldn't be surprised if s/he is now being monitored by the US intelligence.

csomar 6y ago
> How did you open a bank account in the US (esp. as a foreigner) without having to show at least the passport and valid visa? If you re-read my comment you'll see that I mentioned that they only ask for my passport. This was, roughly, 1.5 years ago. > In my experience helping a couple of fresh/new immigrants (on student visa) get their bank accounts opened recently at Chase I don't know much about banking in the US but enough to not go to Chase or Citi. Try TD Bank. Also, I think it's more about the branch than the bank itself; so I might just have lucked out from a first attempt. > I myself even had to call both Citi and Capital One to verify my legal residency status to them for having their credit cards. When I signed up, the agent told me that I can't have unsecured cards without an SSN or an ITIN from the US embassy in my country. But then they released the funds, so not sure what happened in between. > Your friend who moved 250K from HSBC to WF, I wouldn't be surprised if s/he is now being monitored by the US intelligence. Nope. That's not really how intelligence works. Also he's pretty legit, it's just that he opened and transferred funds before settling in the US which should have made him suspicious at the time. It was two years ago and he has been employed since with a good job/status.

A4ET8a8uTh0 6y ago

There is definitely something off about this article's timing. It is clearly designed to create outrage and contains weird factual errors about SARs, PEPs, and BSA in general. Granted, a lot of this stuff is not common knowledge partly due to associated secrecy, partly due to most of it happening behind scenes, but the actual law and interpretations are on the books and not secret, so it is hard for me not to judge it more harshly. So what does that mean? Article is purposefully trying to sound more clickbaity than necessary to sell the story. For the record, there are some real issues with SARs and BSA, but the article mentioned none of them.