Solid Personal Bank Account with USD/EUR Balances that takes Malta residents?

[Vince]

Hello, I recently moved to Malta from another EU country due to the tax advantages but now need to open a Personal Bank account elsewhere to keep my capital gains.

Since I'm paid by an American company it would be nice to have a USD Balance due to the dollar being low at the moment, so not advisable to change the funds to Euro at this point.

I was looking at HSBC International but seen they do not accept Malta residents. N26 and Bunq are also out due to no USD balance.

Technically I could use my bank account in my original country but have been advised not to just in case the tax authorities come snooping.

No EMIs please.

Any ideas?

 

[peerpep]

If you thought about fintech how about Revolut?
There you can add a US$ account (or other currencies)

 

[Vince]

If you thought about fintech how about Revolut?
There you can add a US$ account (or other currencies)

isnt that EMI?

I'm looking for a bank that has guaranteed 100k balance at least if it goes bust.

 

[Sols]

Seems strange to rule out Wise just because it's an EMI, when they can give you a domestic USD account for fast, cheap settlement of USD payments from your American client.

HSBC is also doable if you start with HSBC in Malta and leverage that to open accounts with HSBC elsewhere. But they can be very finicky. Things get easier once you're over the 100,000 EUR threshold.

You can try Standard Bank International in IOM/Jersey. They offer multicurrency accounts and accept EU residents.

If it's a nice and predictable pattern, you can have a chat with Swissquote and see what they say. They usually don't like third-party transfers but if it's a fixed salary payment or similar, they are sometimes OK with it.

If you have assets in excess of 250-500,000 EUR, you have far more options to choose from.

I'm looking for a bank that has guaranteed 100k balance at least if it goes bust.

How is 100,000 deposit insurance better than the 100% reserve EMIs are required to maintain? Focus on stable financial institutions and you won't have to worry about deposit insurance.

 

[Vince]

Seems strange to rule out Wise just because it's an EMI, when they can give you a domestic USD account for fast, cheap settlement of USD payments from your American client.

HSBC is also doable if you start with HSBC in Malta and leverage that to open accounts with HSBC elsewhere. But they can be very finicky. Things get easier once you're over the 100,000 EUR threshold.

You can try Standard Bank International in IOM/Jersey. They offer multicurrency accounts and accept EU residents.

If it's a nice and predictable pattern, you can have a chat with Swissquote and see what they say. They usually don't like third-party transfers but if it's a fixed salary payment or similar, they are sometimes OK with it.

If you have assets in excess of 250-500,000 EUR, you have far more options to choose from.


How is 100,000 deposit insurance better than the 100% reserve EMIs are required to maintain? Focus on stable financial institutions and you won't have to worry about deposit insurance.

I have Wise personal account and use it for normal daily expenses. I'm just a little hesitant in keeping tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars there when there are so many horror stories in this forum with people getting their funds frozen for 6 months plus and stuff like that.

Would prefer a normal reputed bank. Am I wrong?

 

[Sols]

Would prefer a normal reputed bank. Am I wrong?

Nothing wrong with having preferences. Just make sure they're well thought out and that you've assessed the risks properly.

I see six and seven figure sums flowing through EMIs, such as Wise, monthly without any more issue than with banks. As long as you can prove source of funds (invoices, statements, agreements) and as long as your business activities are within what the EMI accepts, it doesn't seem to be a problem.

For large sums of money, I fully understand the desire to keep them in a bank. But in most cases, I'd take a profitable EMI over a failing bank.

 

[jafo]

If you have assets in excess of 250-500,000 EUR, you have far more options to choose from.

Hi Sols,

For example, which options?

 

[Forester]

Technically I could use my bank account in my original country but have been advised not to just in case the tax authorities come snooping.

Be advised that if you open a bank account in any country that signed for AEOI/CRS mechanism (a vast majority, exceptions exist – see OECD website), your taxmen will be aware about your balance as well as you were at home.

isnt that EMI?

Revolut is a bank nowadays, technically. They possess a banking licence.

I'm looking for a bank that has guaranteed 100k balance at least if it goes bust.

Seems strange to rule out Wise just because it's an EMI, when they can give you a domestic USD account for fast, cheap settlement of USD payments from your American client.

How is 100,000 deposit insurance better than the 100% reserve EMIs are required to maintain? Focus on stable financial institutions and you won't have to worry about deposit insurance.

For large sums of money, I fully understand the desire to keep them in a bank. But in most cases, I'd take a profitable EMI over a failing bank.

So do I
Eventually, a deeper discussion about banks vs. EMIs you can find here
Question - Wise (Revolut) Whats the benefit/cons? Should I have one? (and the following posts). (OK, can be perceived as a little self-promotion but I think @Sols 's input there is more valuable than mine )


RE: banks – check e.g. also CIM Banque (CH). Otherwise, I can only agree with @Sols 's recommendations.

 

[jafo]

CIM Banque (CH)

I'm in Switzerland and CIM Banque has always given me the runaround. Not sure what is up with them. They'll request one thing and when I send it, a few weeks later they'll ask for something else.

 

[Forester]

I'm in Switzerland and CIM Banque has always given me the runaround. Not sure what is up with them. They'll request one thing and when I send it, a few weeks later they'll ask for something else.

As you might know, CIM Banque is rarely used by locals. Perhaps they are just surprised
Seriously: Generally, it seems that the onboarding process with CIM Banque becomes more and more complicated. This could be another example.