International banking?
 

so, is there a bank out there that is like the McDonnalds of banking? one in every country? I was thinking that it would be a good way of avoiding a lot of these fees that everyone keeps mentioning. Is there one banking institution that is more prevelant internationally than the others. just a thought.

i've been wondering the same thing. i usually find that the better interest rate at the atm offsets the fees (as opposed to exchanging cash) but saving on the interest rate AND fees would be even sweeter!:)

There is no "One Bank" across the globe - however there are worldwide affiliations.

The Global ATM Alliance is a collection of banks from around the world where by belonging to one, you can bypass some fees at others. Here's this list

• United States - Bank of America
• UK/Spain/Portugal/Gibraltar - Barclays
• France - BNP Paribas
• China/HK - China Construction Bank
• Germany/Poland/Czech Republic/Spain/Italy - Deutsche Bank
• Spain/Mexico - Santander Serfin
• Canada/Caribbean/Chile/Mexico - ScotiaBank
• Australia/New Zealand/Oceania - Westpac

hey, thanks for the info!

You're welcome.

Do you have to be a resident of a country in order to have a bank account with them? Or if you say plan to travel extensivly through the EU could you get an account there that would charge less fees? Instead of exclusivly using an overseas accounts.

Just open an account where ever you go, as long as you have proper visas/papers. Or open an acct here and transfer service making sure they do business in your country of residence. Its gotta be done all the time.

Im wondering if you could get around all those pesky bank fees for using foeign atms and transfering funds if you had an account in your host country that you could just transfer funds to once. :mf_tongue: stupid bank fees.

That is what I am saying. See if you can find a bank that does business jointly with where you live. Or at least has free fees with your host country. Most new accts only require a few hundred to start them up. Plus in a pinch you could always do it via paypal:sly:

You know, on second thought. I think I will just travel around with $20,000 in my pockets. I'll have to invest in pants with bigger pockets granted, but think of the money I'll save in the long run. (Amanda does creepy mizer cackle) Take that bank fees. They cant have my money! they cant have it! :aikido:

HSBC is the closest thing to the McDonald's of the banking world.

As long as you have proof of income/savings you can usually open up an HSBC offshore/international account from a branch in your home country.

At least it works that way over here in Australia. Check out the HSBC website for details on how it works in your own country. :)

Thanks, I'll definitely look into that. I think I want a swiss bank account too. just because it sounds nifty. lol

I think I have to put a small downer on setting up bank accounts in european countries anyway. In the United Kingdom- you cannot open a bank account (especially non-EU members) without reisidence visas and a valid UK address/letter confirming that you are here to study/etc. It's damn near impossible, I promise. In Germany, you also cannot do it unless you have a proper residencey papers (registering a german address). I think this is the case in lots of EU countries these days.

Best bet is the ATM alliance. There are enough of those banks to make it really easy to reduce fees.