Best Easy & Safe EU Bank to park $100K

[Martin Everson]

It just looks like they are taking their cut, which is more than a regular broker, i think its 0.3-0.5 depending on currency. With USD you're supposed to get 5.54% I believe

They are not taking a cut. Belgium applies 30% withholding tax on interest income for non-residents in general. So Wise passes this on to the customer as Belgium is where the accounts are held.

Understanding how this all works is important before assuming they are robbing you...lol.

 

[Don]

They are not taking a cut. Belgium applies 30% withholding tax on interest income for non-residents in general. So Wise passes this on to the customer as Belgium is where the accounts are held.

Understanding how this all works is important before assuming they are robbing you...lol.

Exactly!
Unfortunately, with Wise you can't apply for lower treaty rate (not possible since they dont collect tax residency info) or get refund from Belgium tax authorities(not possible since they don't provide any relevant documents for this). That's why using a broker might be more optimal.

 

[Martin Everson]

Exactly!
Unfortunately, with Wise you can't apply for lower treaty rate (not possible since they dont collect tax residency info) or get refund from Belgium tax authorities(not possible since they don't provide any relevant documents for this). That's why using a broker might be more optimal.

Are you confusing Wise "Balance Cash Back" with "Wise Interest"? The two are different products with different interest rates and work differently.

Wise Interest is Blackrock fund based and requires you to place money into the fund or Jar. No WHT is applied as no interest is paid out to you directly as its paid to you in the Blackrock accumulation fund and the interest builds up within the fund.

Balance Cash Back is Belgium account based service and 30% WHT is applied and the rates are lower anyway compared to Wise Interest.

Also Wise Interest is only available to customers in a limited number of countries.


Can you just confirm you are talking about the same thing and not getting confused between the two?

My previous post was clearly about Wise Interest for the record and NOT Balance Cash Back which I think is what you are talking about .

 

[Don]

Are you confusing Wise "Balance Cash Back" with "Wise Interest"? The two are different products with different interest rates and work differently.

Wise Interest is Blackrock fund based and requires you to place money into the fund or Jar. No WHT is applied as no interest is paid out to you directly as its paid to you in the Blackrock accumulation fund and the interest builds up within the fund.

Balance Cash Back is Belgium account based service and 30% WHT is applied and the rates are lower anyway compared to Wise Interest.

Also Wise Interest is only available to customers in a limited number of countries.


Can you just confirm you are talking about the same thing and not getting confused between the two?

I was referring to cashback. Thanks for pointing this out.

 

[Martin Everson]

I was referring to cashback. Thanks for pointing this out.

No worries

So the "Wise Interest" rates below have no withholding tax applied and are very competitive for now imho.

USD 5.09%
GBP 4.87%
EUR 3.42%

 

[wellington]

Need to diversify. Looking to park 6 figure number in a low-fee AAA bank (Poilsh citizen & resident) previous USA resident

Current savings are in USD parked in the USA bank at 4% APY. (which is awesome, however I'm worried that I'm not a resident there anymore and can't really keep it like that)

No need debit card. No need transfer or recieve funds from 3rd parties or customers.

Looking for cheap banking fees to park cash for future real estate purchases. Looking to add an additional $20-30K a year to that bank.

Please, preferably no bank in Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, UK : fees too expansive.

Thoughts on Andorra? Mora Banc Grup? Any other options, in Germany, Holland, Sweden?

Willing to travel to the country to open it.

Thanks for any advice

With the currency debasement that is underway.

Why on earth are you thinking of holding cash longer term.

FYI bail ins are legalised in the West (Basel 3 i think) so anyone with funds sitting in a bank account when that occurs will be low hanging fruit.

For context, Central Bank of Germany, UK are already confirmed to be bankrupt.
Switzerland is loosing money hands over fist, don't really take much notice of Southern Europe.

Oh and one thing different to '13 when Cyprus did the bail in's is CRS now tells all information about you so whereas before they only took over a certain $ amount from an account, now they can clean out specific accounts... knowing you have funds elsewhere.

 

[jafo]

Understanding how this all works is important before assuming they are robbing you...lol.

*** Well, to be fair, they ARE robbing him. It's just NOT Wise
It's Belgium.

PS. Here, it's best to follow @Don 's advice and work with a broker.
----------------------------------

As an illustration...
*** I know these things are hard to envision, so I explain them with mental constructs.
The scenario/background:

1. I'm traveling.
2. There is a guy named Mr. Wise who is a Pizzaiolo.
3. There is a guy named Mr. Belgium who is the landlord of Mr. Wise, the Pizzaiolo.

I ordered a 40 cm Pizza from Mr. Wise and paid €100 for it. When I pick it up, Mr. Wise gives me a 28 cm Pizza instead.
When I complained he said that Mr. Belgium, the landlord, took away 30% because I don't live in Mr. Belgium's house.
If Mr. Belgium is Tyson Fury or the like, I chalk it up to experience and never buy anything from Mr. Wise again.
If Mr. Belgium is weaker than me... well... He can return the 30% or spend it on his dental care
Hope you all had a good laugh!

With the currency debasement that is underway.

Why on earth are you thinking of holding cash longer term.

FYI bail ins are legalised in the West (Basel 3 i think) so anyone with funds sitting in a bank account when that occurs will be low hanging fruit.

For context, Central Bank of Germany, UK are already confirmed to be bankrupt.
Switzerland is loosing money hands over fist, don't really take much notice of Southern Europe.

Oh and one thing different to '13 when Cyprus did the bail in's is CRS now tells all information about you so whereas before they only took over a certain $ amount from an account, now they can clean out specific accounts... knowing you have funds elsewhere.

@wellington

Where would you hold your money?

 

[Don]

*** Well, to be fair, they ARE robbing him. It's just NOT Wise
It's Belgium.

PS. Here, it's best to follow @Don 's advice and work with a broker.
----------------------------------

As an illustration...
*** I know these things are hard to envision, so I explain them with mental constructs.
The scenario/background:

1. I'm traveling.
2. There is a guy named Mr. Wise who is a Pizzaiolo.
3. There is a guy named Mr. Belgium who is the landlord of Mr. Wise, the Pizzaiolo.

I ordered a 40 cm Pizza from Mr. Wise and paid €100 for it. When I pick it up, Mr. Wise gives me a 28 cm Pizza instead.
When I complained he said that Mr. Belgium, the landlord, took away 30% because I don't live in Mr. Belgium's house.
If Mr. Belgium is Tyson Fury or the like, I chalk it up to experience and never buy anything from Mr. Wise again.
If Mr. Belgium is weaker than me... well... He can return the 30% or spend it on his dental care
Hope you all had a good laugh!


@wellington

Where would you hold your money?

At least for us EU folks and EU business owners there is hope for a better future when it comes to withholding taxes:

Faster Initiative

The European Commission has proposed new rules to make withholding tax procedures in the EU more efficient and secure for investors, financial intermediaries (e.g. banks) and Member State tax administrations.

taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu

If ofcourse EU won't collapse first

 

[reelay]

With the currency debasement that is underway.

Why on earth are you thinking of holding cash longer term.

FYI bail ins are legalised in the West (Basel 3 i think) so anyone with funds sitting in a bank account when that occurs will be low hanging fruit.

For context, Central Bank of Germany, UK are already confirmed to be bankrupt.
Switzerland is loosing money hands over fist, don't really take much notice of Southern Europe.

Oh and one thing different to '13 when Cyprus did the bail in's is CRS now tells all information about you so whereas before they only took over a certain $ amount from an account, now they can clean out specific accounts... knowing you have funds elsewhere.

I don't understand why a lot of you so concerned about CRS? If you made your money legally and just want to have the cash sitting in the bank it don't matter if the bank banks report it or not. IT's your money in the bank

 

[void]

I don't understand why a lot of you so concerned about CRS? If you made your money legally and just want to have the cash sitting in the bank it don't matter if the bank banks report it or not. IT's your money in the bank

some people think that it's nobody's f*****g business how much money they have
and there is wealth tax
and there is exit tax
... they will get more and more creative that's for sure

 

[jafo]

I don't understand why a lot of you so concerned about CRS?

Personal security!
Even when I am very well-armed, I can't win against 6 well-prepared & armed invaders. Let's be honest here...they don't need to try to take me on and play the improbable odds. All they have to do is take a loved one and I MUST cave.
Want to see a worst-case scenario?
I don't cave! They execute one or more of my loved ones. They get caught! They cut a deal with the prosecutors/DOJ to lower their sentence (Substantial Assistance, 5K1.1 Motions, and Rule 35 Motions) and reveal the "intellectual author" of the crime. They have their story straight—all 6 of them. They testify in front of a grand jury that "I" made them do it to rip off the govt. and deduct it from my taxes as a loss. I get indicted for felony murder among other things. All 6 are now "key witnesses". What are the chances that 12 low-earning jurors will believe I had nothing to do with it?

BTW, many innocent people (no mens rea) are locked up around the world that had nothing to do with the actus reus. This has been going on for centuries. If you want your conscience shocked read this: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ca7-11-01061/pdf/USCOURTS-ca7-11-01061-0.pdf

Another vivid and brutal example is the current trend: GitHub - jlopp/physical-bitcoin-attacks: A list of known attacks against Bitcoin / crypto asset owning entities that occurred in meatspace.

 

[myhand]

Wise works well if you have source of funds and all your documents in place. Or you exchange all of it into USDT or other stable coin and keep them away from the banks.