The Era of Fully Digital Offshore Banking is Here: How to Benefit from it?

Fully digital offshore banking is finally here! There’s no longer any need to deal with brokers; or worse, book a lengthy and potentially costly plane ticket overseas to move and manage your funds offshore. Though currently considered a fintech trend, digital is definitely the new banking standard.

Digital is here, and digital offshore banking is here to stay. Let’s take a look at some more details, including how this fintech will benefit you in your wealth planning and asset protection efforts.

Banks catching up with what consumers actually want

One hundred years from now, the idea of paper transactions will be ancient history. We’re not there yet, but the digital revolution is upon us and both local and offshore banking institutions realize the end is coming. People simply don’t want to mess around with paperwork, visiting ATMS, or making phone calls and/or physically visiting the places they do their banking business.

There are even some banks currently eliminating their brick-and-mortar operations completely, also known as “branchless banking.” In this scenario, account holders can fully access funds — including making effortless transfers between accounts 24/7 without interruption in service — straight from their smartphone or other connected device. The bank exists online only, essentially an entirely digital business entity.

Of course, the ability to access funds and transfer currency isn’t the only perk offered by digital banking services, other perks such as the ability to apply for loans and mortgages at your own convenience (rather than your bank’s lending officer and their schedule) is also being ushered in. Many are now also offering other digital financial services such as online trading, and the ability to purchase offshore bonds, bitcoin trading, and more.

Why offshore banks need to make the move to digital?

Each country has their own set of transparency rules regarding offshore banking (Ie., FATCA, CRS and other KYC and anti tax-evasion initiatives). With so many countries, particularly the United States focusing on banks verifying their customer’s information, and being willing to share that information at a moment’s notice, it’s more important than ever for offshore banking institutions to make their services digitally-available to their current and potential customers.

With so many offshore banks already going this route, it basically becomes banking business suicide not to. With the expectations of ultimate transparency when engaging in offshore banking, customers need as many incentives as possible to consider moving their money offshore. Not to mention how the adoption of disruptive tech like blockchain technology like bitcoin is making global transactions so easy, private, and potentially profitable; offshore banks have to adapt or die.

Going fully digital: Advantages to banking clients

Just like their conventional counterparts, fully-digital offshore banks are focusing on serving customers with accessible banking services. So, what’s offered by the banks to their clients?

Convenience

Convenience is the number one reason to go fully digital with your offshore banking activities. If you already know the many benefits offered by storing your funds across the border, it’s not much of a stretch to imagine that benefits such as protecting your funds from local financial instability, lower corporate/profit/capital gains’ taxes, expat taxes, and fewer overall eyes looking at your money increase when you go digital.

While you can no longer “hide” your money by storing wealth overseas, the convenience of having fully-fledged banking services 24/7 definitely counter-acts the disadvantages of using a local banking service. Local services that offer limited hours of operation, and long — drawn out loan approval processes. Not to mention, they pay a pittance when it comes to interest rates paid out for the privilege of borrowing/leveraging your funds to make money for themselves.

Better asset protection ability

When some sort of financial or social turmoil breaks out in the locale where your money is housed, a phone call to your offshore bank may not be fast enough to save you from being locked away from your money. It’s happened in the past, with thousands of British expats suddenly losing access to their money stored in Greek bank accounts back in 2013.

Even those who use foreign issued credit cards to save money on local purchases aren’t protected from a lender suddenly freezing access to funds. Digital access to offshore funds gives you the ability to log into your account at the first sign of trouble, move those funds home — or to another foreign account — in the same time it would take you to dial the 5 or 10 digit phone number of the offshore bank your money is housed in. Not to mention, during a crisis, you’re not going to get someone on the phone to help you right away.

Improved overall service quality

The advent of AI chatbots into the digital banking equation has the ability to improve banking services worldwide, including overseas to a point where there will be zero delay time in talking with a banking agent when you need account assistance. Chatbots of the past, such as those used in early online shopping, were a major turnoff to customers.

With chatbot technology now using artificial intelligence, it will soon be impossible for humans to tell if they’re talking to AI or a human being.

What digital offshore banking won’t do for you

The advent of digital fintech in the offshore banking industry won’t help you hide your money from authorities. Capitalist countries essentially survive and thrive based off their tax systems.

There are other factors, of course, but military, infrastructure, social welfare, and other financial services and assistance provided to citizens thrive off taxes collected from citizens. Transparency laws related to offshore banking will still continue to adapt and improve, and digital technology will only bolster, not hinder such processes.

Are you ready to embrace the addition of more digital technology in local and offshore banking services?