Belize bank account -- useful? For what?

[blackeric]

I'll plan to visit Belize soon.

A bank in Belize can be opened by non-resident or tourist, right? No hassle, no big deposit, no difficult KYC, right?

But what a bank account in Belize can be useful for, given the reputation of Belize? For crypto, for instance? Or something else?

Do EMI generally accept Belize banks? How about crypto-EMI and crypto exchanged like Kraken?

 

[Suzy Emerald]

Please read this forum carefully before opening a bank account in Belize. A bank account in Belize is not a wise choice these days.

 

[blackeric]

Ok.

A personal account I mean.

I will read the forum.

 

[Sols]

I wouldn't bother with it. With correspondent banks de-risking, banks like the ones in Belize are useless.

 

[blackeric]

No.
I mean, I'd use a Belize account to receive money from crypto exchanges. Primarily. Possibly, if it's not ricky, send to crypto exchanges too. That's it. There're no other banks that'll be involved in the process.

And I'd use its VISA or MasterCard card to pay for stuff, online or offline.

 

[Clip]

I wouldn't bother with it. With correspondent banks de-risking, banks like the ones in Belize are useless.

You mean that would bounce any incoming bank transfer from Belize ?

 

[LegitBananas]

What's the point? Belize is in the CRS and will report to your home country anyways. Their banks are barely even banks, support sucks and high chance of not being able to access funds.

 

[Spinat]

What's the point? Belize is in the CRS and will report to your home country anyways. Their banks are barely even banks, support sucks and high chance of not being able to access funds.

I can only agree with this statement. You won't get anything good from doing it.

 

[blackeric]

I'm not a tax resident in my home country.

Point -- being able to open a bank account with ease, use it for stuff related to cryptocurrencies and not worry about it being shut down for that.

 

[Sols]

You mean that would bounce any incoming bank transfer from Belize ?

And/or prevent outgoing transfers. I have a feeling you know this, but I'm adding this for the benefit of other readers: Since international banks in Belize aren't licensed to hold any currency directly, they are entirely reliant on correspondent accounts for actually moving money. Account holders' money is not ever actually in Belize with the bank.

As banks in Europe, North America, and Asia are de-risking (throwing out high-risk offshore banks), banks such as international banks in Belize and elsewhere are struggling to stay afloat and be able to process EUR, GBP, USD, and other important currencies.

So if you open an account in Belize and the bank gets thrown out, your funds are stuck until the bank makes new arrangements. These arrangements are harder and harder to come by, and the fees are steadily climbing.

@blackeric because of the above, banks in Belize typically don't like cryptocurrency activities. Not because the bank itself has any problem with it (they'd hold Kim Jong-Un's pocket change if they could), their partner banks are the usual mainstream banks in Europe, North America, and Asia and they don't like it when their correspondent banks engage (too much) with cryptocurrency activities.

Enjoy your vacation to Belize, but look elsewhere for banking solutions.

 

[blackeric]

But some people use Belize banks for some purposes nonetheless?

 

[Tax Cow]

Belizean banks had a very high percentage of non-resident business, primarily driven by demand for privacy, which is now gone with the adoption of CRS/FATCA. Customers are repatriating funds to their home countries, paying taxes due, while others dig deeper and hide in metals, crypto and real estate. This turn of events is detremental to local banks. As it stands, the country still has no economic backbone that could prop up the bank's balance sheets during non-resident capital flight. Correspondent banks are aware and wise to de-risk. This is an exceptionally bad time to get involved.

An offshore bank account in Belize no longer has value, unless you're from Argentina, Venezuela, or another place of greater misery.