[exe]

(11-08-2010 09:02 PM)LÉtranger Wrote:  

(11-07-2010 11:09 PM)exe Wrote:  

Have you looked into banking with an int'l bank that has branches all over - like Citi or HSBC - as they might not charge for withdrawing money at a foreign branch.

hmm great idea, I just checked HSBC and they call this service "offshore banking", but starting as of tomorrow (!) they will cancel the standard account and will ask for a minimum deposit of 40k$....

Quote:

I heard one can go to a foreign branch and open an account by writing a check from your local bank account.

yeah the numbers on a check are the same used for a deposit by wire

I don't get your paypal situation, how do you get access to the money from there? They have % fees for withdrawing.

Called HSBC and here's the 411: one can open HSBC accounts in different countries and link them thru it's online banking site. Transfers between foreign accounts is $30 - for HSBC Premiere members there's no charge. HSBC Premiere requires a deposit of at least $100k.

Based on that flat rate fee and the average 3% fee via other methods, transferring/pulling money out from a foreign branch thru HSBC becomes progressively more attractive above $1k. Let's say you want to pull $5k - that's $150 at 3%.

Now, if you don't mind pulling money out at your daily ATM limits - usually $300-500, the no-fee Schwab card will cost you less/zero. From your HSBC online banking, you can link to your Schwab account so you can fund it from your local HSBC account. Since they're both domestic, you don't get int'l transfer fees.

Based on the above setup, if you want to pull money out daily then transfer money to your Schwab account from your domestic HSBC account. If you want to pull a large amount at once, transfer to your foreign HSBC account from your domestic HSBC acct and pay the lower flat fee. This is actually the setup I'm putting together. Just got my Schwab card & activated it today. Gonna be setting up my HSBC accounts soon.

If you have income streams in different countries, you can also open HSBC accounts in each country & have your income deposited at the country you earned it that way you don't have to do int'l transfers as you need money. And of course you can link all of them via the HSBC online banking site just in case you need to transfer money around.

Quote:

I don't get your paypal situation, how do you get access to the money from there? They have % fees for withdrawing.

I have all my bank accounts linked to Paypal so I can pull money from one account into PP then out to another account. One can ask to have the withdraw fees removed or the limit raised but this point is moot as I found out that Paypal doesn't allow linking foreign bank accounts to one's domestic PP account. FYI, Paypal has a debit card (M/C) but it has foreign transaction & ATM fees, so the Schwab card is better here.