List of Non OECD Banks for offshore banking
The matter of OECD and CRS often comes up in the same conversation.
OECD stands for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, where as means Common Reporting Standards (abbreviated as CRS), for countries that are part of such agreements, they agree to freely exchange information under this agreement.
Any time that one of the membered countries ask, they country that is being asked to provide the information has an obligation to provide the data to the requesting nation.
- The implications behind this is that countries that are members to the CRS are free to request information of customers.
Usually, the national’s home country’s government may have interest in their citizens and residents international financial activities and foreign governments and financial institution may choose to comply with the request to build goodwill and hope that one day, the favour will be returned.
- Having an offshore bank account in a CRS/Non-OECD country is ideal for international companies and individuals that are looking to bank offshore in a foreign country and these parties abide by all necessary reporting regulations, both in the home country and foreign, where the international non resident (also known as “Call Account” in other countries) bank account is to be opened.
What is a call account for international customers?
The call account is assigned to clients who are non resident customers. This goes for both business and individuals looking to open offshore accounts remotely.
A call account Is often similar to a normal functioning local resident account. with the exception of a few features such as:
Availability of cheque book
Access to a credit card (although debit card will be available)
Online banking transaction rights (Certain banks limit online access to review only and any transactions should be confirmed and communicated directly with the bank.)
Banks have these type of restrictions and things for two reasons.
To safeguard the interest of the offshore bank account holder’s debtors.
With an offshore bank account, clients may not have any collateral to offset any potential credit issued by the banks, which would provide clients access to “free funds”
International offshore banks need to confirm that the transactions made, both incoming and outgoing, are of a legitimate purpose and therefore, require the client to communicate these requests to the banks before the transaction is initiated, completed or approved.
For individual customers looking to open an offshore call account, this means that customers can open a bank account in another country without needing to have:
Residency visa issued by the country where the bank is located
Residence ID issued by the foreign country
Living in the country where the bank is located
Working in the country where the bank is situated
Foreign businesses are also able to open an account in offshore countries.
For international companies, this means that:
It is not necessary to register a company where the offshore bank is located
It is possible to open an offshore bank account without registering or incorporating a branch office in the foreign country
Which countries are members of the OECD initiative?
Most of the countries internationally that are economic powerhouses are already members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development treaty.
Following is a list of 38 OECD member countries that are already part of the agreement.
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
More countries are choosing to be part of the agreement and become OECD members in order to improve their country’s image and signal to potential investors who are interested in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in their country, that the nation abides by international standards and regulations.
Applying for an offshore account in both OECD and non OECD countries are definitely real possibilities for oversea clients.
As of December 2024, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Indonesia, Peru, Romania and Thailand are countries that are interested in joining the OECD in order to appeal to investors, partners and other countries, signaling their intent to become strict in terms of Anti Money Laundering practices and prevention, as well as ensuring taxpayers fulfill their obligation, no matter where they are banking.
Since OECD countries make up slightly over 25% of nations globally, there are plenty of opportunities for clients to open a non-resident offshore account for international customers in a non OECD country.
How to open an offshore bank account in a Non-OECD country
An offshore personal bank account can be opened between 7-30 days after the below documents have been notarized, apostilled or attested and have been accepted by the bank.
Proof of Identification – Passport is the top preference all banks. Other accepted documents are driver’s license, National Identification card (ID)
Proof of Address – Electricity, Phone, Internet, Water and Credit card bills are the most commonly accepted.
Proof of Occupation/Income – Salary certificate, letter indicating monthly pension income, Real Estate sales agreement, Inheritance documents or Investments proof are all accepted forms of proof.
Reference letter – Character References for that is issued from any individual or company that. are familiar and interacted with the client previously.
These can be provided by any contacts the potential client currently maintains such as from their local bank, auditor, lawyer, etc.
Required documents that are needed to open a business offshore bank account, attested or notarized copies of:
Certificate of Incorporation and/or Trade license
Proof of Address
Memorandum of Association (MOA) and/or Articles of Association (AOA).
Financial statement such as bank account statement and/or audit report
Shareholders list and percentage of shareholding and value of each share held by each
How BUH Consulting can assist
Contact our team to discuss current options for non resident offshore banking for private individual accounts and for businesses not domiciled where the offshore banks are located.
Contact information
For a tailored solution, contact us to discuss about your requirements.
Email: – sam@buh-consulting.com
Phone: +971585086656
Whatsapp: +971585086656
Telegram: BUHConsultingAE