RIP Wayne Guest

[KKvampire]

I am thinking of selling my small property soon and moving overseas but will have no fixed address in the short term. Is it possible to have an International Bank account without a fixed address, or is it virtually impossible, what are my options?

[Naam]

to establish an account an address is mandatory. after that it's only a matter how to arrange with the bank that any mail to you is held. not a big problem.

p.s. there is no such thing like an "international" bank account.

[daxbr]

po box is your first choice.

second: online scanning service that provides physical address and delivery by email.

[Naam]

po box is your first choice.

second: online scanning service that provides physical address and delivery by email.

banks do not accept a P.O.Box when establishing an account. international rule is (Thai banks don't care but they are not "banks") proof of residence by utility bill (electricity, water, phone). period!

[yoshiwara]

Open a bank account with your current address (ie the property you are going to sell). Once it is sold it doesn't really matter as far as your continuing bank account is concerned.

[KKvampire]

Open a bank account with your current address (ie the property you are going to sell). Once it is sold it doesn't really matter as far as your continuing bank account is concerned.

Umm and bank cards , where would they go when new ones are due?

[chiang mai]

Open a bank account with your current address (ie the property you are going to sell). Once it is sold it doesn't really matter as far as your continuing bank account is concerned.

Umm and bank cards , where would they go when new ones are due?

Have the bank hold all mail (many people do that) and go intot he bank to pick up the cards when needed.

[Soutpeel]

Open a bank account with your current address (ie the property you are going to sell). Once it is sold it doesn't really matter as far as your continuing bank account is concerned.

Umm and bank cards , where would they go when new ones are due?

and go intot he bank to pick up the cards when needed.

Maybe not so convenient if he opens his account in Belize or somewhere like that..

[Dancealot]

to establish an account an address is mandatory. after that it's only a matter how to arrange with the bank that any mail to you is held. not a big problem.

p.s. there is no such thing like an "international" bank account.

I get it. Like sir Naam explained an address is mandatory. I arranged it the same way. ;-)

[daxbr]

po box is your first choice.

second: online scanning service that provides physical address and delivery by email.

banks do not accept a P.O.Box when establishing an account. international rule is (Thai banks don't care but they are not "banks") proof of residence by utility bill (electricity, water, phone). period!

Read initial post. OP is not talking about opening new account but maintaining established one. POB is usually fine as mailing address. Unless there is some kind of account problem, noone cares if residential address is updated.

[chiang mai]

Open a bank account with your current address (ie the property you are going to sell). Once it is sold it doesn't really matter as far as your continuing bank account is concerned.

Umm and bank cards , where would they go when new ones are due?

and go intot he bank to pick up the cards when needed.

Maybe not so convenient if he opens his account in Belize or somewhere like that..

Good excuse for a jolly, I have to go see my bank dear, bank in a week!

[chainarong]

I don't know about Thai banks , twice I sent money from HSBC account to my sons KBank, been doing this over two years and both were returned, they phoned home on land line and the step daughter answered they wanted to know why my son was receiving funds from o/sea's, stuffed him around as it was for a car payment, anyone else had this problem. now to the question , you must have an address and sometimes proof of that address before opening an account.

[Naam]

po box is your first choice.

second: online scanning service that provides physical address and delivery by email.

banks do not accept a P.O.Box when establishing an account. international rule is (Thai banks don't care but they are not "banks") proof of residence by utility bill (electricity, water, phone). period!

Read initial post. OP is not talking about opening new account but maintaining established one. POB is usually fine as mailing address. Unless there is some kind of account problem, noone cares if residential address is updated.

the OP says nothing about keeping his established account. he is interested to establish an "international" account which does not exist. moreover, it is quite clear quote: "moving overseas" that Thai banks with their Mickey Mouse service cannot match the demands of an account holder who does not live in Thailand because Thai banks can't even match the demands of account holders living in Thailand.

and a bank account outside Thailand requires proof of residence. period!

[MrHammer]

po box is your first choice.

second: online scanning service that provides physical address and delivery by email.

banks do not accept a P.O.Box when establishing an account. international rule is (Thai banks don't care but they are not "banks") proof of residence by utility bill (electricity, water, phone). period!

Read initial post. OP is not talking about opening new account but maintaining established one. POB is usually fine as mailing address. Unless there is some kind of account problem, noone cares if residential address is updated.

the OP says nothing about keeping his established account. he is interested to establish an "international" account which does not exist. moreover, it is quite clear quote: "moving overseas" that Thai banks with their Mickey Mouse service cannot match the demands of an account holder who does not live in Thailand because Thai banks can't even match the demands of account holders living in Thailand.

and a bank account outside Thailand requires proof of residence. period!

And of course the easiest way is to spend $1K on a Hong Kong company and then open a HSBC bank account for that company. Problem solved.

Btw, if he just wants a debit card, then a Thai bank will do fine.

[Naam]

And of course the easiest way is to spend $1K on a Hong Kong company and then open a HSBC bank account for that company. Problem solved.

Btw, if he just wants a debit card, then a Thai bank will do fine.

unfortunately it's not easy at all. HSBC and any other bank requires the names and place of residence of the beneficiary(ies), id est natural person(s) if the company is not listed at a public exchange. the days having a corporate account with anonymous beneficial owners are long gone.

[Pib]

po box is your first choice.

second: online scanning service that provides physical address and delivery by email.

banks do not accept a P.O.Box when establishing an account. international rule is (Thai banks don't care but they are not "banks") proof of residence by utility bill (electricity, water, phone). period!

I expect true 99.99% of the time; however, I have a USAA Bank (a U.S. bank) savings, checking, and credit card account with only a P.O. box address...absolutely no other address on file. But it's a military post office/APO address which is considered an official U.S. Postal System address for mailing purposes and USAA is a military/federal retiree friendly bank.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Pib

[qwertyuiop]

and a bank account outside Thailand requires proof of residence. period!

That is my understanding as well. I have a SIPP account in the UK which I now wish to start receiving funds from. I am informed that funds must be deposited into a UK bank account. I have not lived in the UK for almost 20 years and do not have a UK account nor any proof of residence for there.

Any suggestions?

[MANICMINER]

My HSBC account in Hong Kong allows me to add a correspondence address to my account. I can change the address whenever i want, because it can be done through the internet banking. i currently have all my post, icluding ATM cards and internet security devices sent to me in Thailand. The correspodence address can be anywhere in the world and can also be po boxes. Try asking your bank if you can add a correspondence address.

[yoshiwara]

My HSBC account in Hong Kong allows me to add a correspondence address to my account. I can change the address whenever i want, because it can be done through the internet banking. i currently have all my post, icluding ATM cards and internet security devices sent to me in Thailand. The correspodence address can be anywhere in the world and can also be po boxes. Try asking your bank if you can add a correspondence address.

I think there is a difference between setting up a bank account in HK and changing the address of that bank account. In the setting up you will be asked for a HK address.

The question is whether you can walk in off the street to set up an account.

[Naam]

My HSBC account in Hong Kong allows me to add a correspondence address to my account. I can change the address whenever i want, because it can be done through the internet banking. i currently have all my post, icluding ATM cards and internet security devices sent to me in Thailand. The correspodence address can be anywhere in the world and can also be po boxes. Try asking your bank if you can add a correspondence address.

if you established your account within the last 5 years you needed proof of residence. a correspondence address is something different and can of course be changed any time. there is also the "hold mail" option for which some banks charge fancy fees.

[Naam]

po box is your first choice.

second: online scanning service that provides physical address and delivery by email.

banks do not accept a P.O.Box when establishing an account. international rule is (Thai banks don't care but they are not "banks") proof of residence by utility bill (electricity, water, phone). period!

I expect true 99.99% of the time; however, I have a USAA Bank (a U.S. bank) savings, checking, and credit card account with only a P.O. box address...absolutely no other address on file. But it's a military post office/APO address which is considered an official U.S. Postal System address for mailing purposes and USAA is a military/federal retiree friendly bank.

it depends "when" the account was established Pib. OECD and FATCA regulations to which most, if not all, banks adhere nowadays require proof of residence to avoid potential sanctions.

if i'm not mistaken Thai banks have adopted recently that procedure too to get off the OECD "grey list".

note: i am referring to an account which is not yet established. i maintain since the days of the Roman Empire (sometimes i exaggerate a wee bit ) bank accounts in several EU countries as well as in U.S. of A.

nobody cares where i live except if i claim "tax free status" in one of the EU banks. if there is interest income or capital gains the bank wants proof that i live in Thailand. if i don't submit that proof the bank will charge the meanwhile notorius and infamous EU tax.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Naam

[yoshiwara]

My HSBC account in Hong Kong allows me to add a correspondence address to my account. I can change the address whenever i want, because it can be done through the internet banking. i currently have all my post, icluding ATM cards and internet security devices sent to me in Thailand. The correspodence address can be anywhere in the world and can also be po boxes. Try asking your bank if you can add a correspondence address.

if you established your account within the last 5 years you needed proof of residence. a correspondence address is something different and can of course be changed any time. there is also the "hold mail" option for which some banks charge fancy fees.

I can say that is/was not so, or at least it could be waived. Having an introduction from an existing customer who did have proof of residence helped though. So you are maybe correct at one step removed. I would not be surprised to hear that things are different now.

Edited October 22, 2012 by yoshiwara

[Pib]

po box is your first choice.

second: online scanning service that provides physical address and delivery by email.

banks do not accept a P.O.Box when establishing an account. international rule is (Thai banks don't care but they are not "banks") proof of residence by utility bill (electricity, water, phone). period!

I expect true 99.99% of the time; however, I have a USAA Bank (a U.S. bank) savings, checking, and credit card account with only a P.O. box address...absolutely no other address on file. But it's a military post office/APO address which is considered an official U.S. Postal System address for mailing purposes and USAA is a military/federal retiree friendly bank.

it depends "when" the account was established Pib. OECD and FATCA regulations to which most, if not all, banks adhere nowadays require proof of residence to avoid potential sanctions.

if i'm not mistaken Thai banks have adopted recently that procedure too to get off the OECD "grey list".

note: i am referring to an account which is not yet established. i maintain since the days of the Roman Empire (sometimes i exaggerate a wee bit ) bank accounts in several EU countries as well as in U.S. of A.

nobody cares where i live except if i claim "tax free status" in one of the EU banks. if there is interest income or capital gains the bank wants proof that i live in Thailand. if i don't submit that proof the bank will charge the meanwhile notorius and infamous EU tax.

The USAA accounts were established about 20 months ago, after all these law/regulations changes started making it much tougher to open a bank account in many situations. USAA did ask what my physical address was (a.k.a., permanent residence) and I said the P.O. box APO was that address. My current Capital One credit card which I also got about 20 months ago also only has my P.O. box address...once again they did ask what my permanent/physical address was and once again I replied the P.O. box address. Now the USAA address was opened all online; I had to call the CapOne folks to get the credit card because their online system wouldn't accept an APO address. One thing that may have help in both account applications, beyond the fact that both USAA and the CapOne rep I applied with on the phone understood the nature of military retirees moving around a lot/living all over the world, is I also keep my states-side drivers license renewed/valid which seems to help when applying for financial accounts. When the dust settled USAA/CapOne may have used the address from my drivers license (different state than my sisters address) to satisfy certain address requirements...but I never gave any address other than my P.O. APO address here in Thailand and no other address appears in my online accounts. Maybe I go lucky.

However, but, every other account I have opened over the last several years would have been a no-go without identifying my sister's address in the U.S. as the permanent/physical address, but I could still use the P.O. box as the mailing address...all mailings, cards, etc., get sent to my mailing address with one exception: my Bank of America SafePass card that will only be shipped to an address within the 50 states...the sister had to remail that to me several years back.

I agree that the laws/regs say you need a permament/physical address, and for the U.S. that needs to be in the 50 U.S. states or one of its terrorories, but just only applying with my APO P.O. box address has worked for me in two situations over the last 20 months or so. That why I made the 99.99% comment since I'm sure others have also been able to do the same with only a P.O. box....it may have been a mistake by USAA/CapOne, but the accounts were still established.

[Naam]

applying with my APO P.O. box address has worked for me in two situations over the last 20 months or so

APO = military retiree = bona fide above all doubts

[Naam]

I can say that is/was not so, or at least it could be waived. Having an introduction from an existing customer who did have proof of residence helped though. So you are maybe correct at one step removed. I would not be surprised to hear that things are different now.

believe it or not:

venue: Singapore

date: april 2011

task: additional account same bank (banking with them since 2004)

bank: please submit yada yada yakety-yak the whole nine yards

me: your compliance department has already ten and a half yards from me

bank: cannot yada yada yakety-yak same same yes, but different

me: are you out of your cotton-picking mind?

bank: yada FATCA yakety OECD yada yak-yak strict MAS - Monetary Authority of Singapore

me: i give up

[yoshiwara]

I can say that is/was not so, or at least it could be waived. Having an introduction from an existing customer who did have proof of residence helped though. So you are maybe correct at one step removed. I would not be surprised to hear that things are different now.

believe it or not:

venue: Singapore

date: april 2011

task: additional account same bank (banking with them since 2004)

bank: please submit yada yada yakety-yak the whole nine yards

me: your compliance department has already ten and a half yards from me

bank: cannot yada yada yakety-yak same same yes, but different

me: are you out of your cotton-picking mind?

bank: yada FATCA yakety OECD yada yak-yak strict MAS - Monetary Authority of Singapore

me: i give up

Yes, I read now that Singapore is more awkward.

[Naam]

I can say that is/was not so, or at least it could be waived. Having an introduction from an existing customer who did have proof of residence helped though. So you are maybe correct at one step removed. I would not be surprised to hear that things are different now.

believe it or not:

venue: Singapore

date: april 2011

task: additional account same bank (banking with them since 2004)

bank: please submit yada yada yakety-yak the whole nine yards

me: your compliance department has already ten and a half yards from me

bank: cannot yada yada yakety-yak same same yes, but different

me: are you out of your cotton-picking mind?

bank: yada FATCA yakety OECD yada yak-yak strict MAS - Monetary Authority of Singapore

me: i give up

Yes, I read now that Singapore is more awkward.

they have been always awkward but since it is common that CDs and DVDs galore with thousands of names and data are sold to various EU-taxmen billions have been flowing and are still flowing to mainly Singapore and of course Hong Kong. but somehow the naïve European tax evaders put more trust into SG. they don't trust them commies across the border which might annex Hong Kong perhaps next month or next year and confiscate all the capitalist dough.

[KKvampire]

Many posters are referring to addresses in USa and far east. I have a UK address, I will no longer have an address in the UK. At the moment I get no statements from them because everything is online and paperless. Am I entitled to have an account with the banks with no address? Even if I dont inform them of moving when my bank cards expire over a two year period they will post them to the old address. If I say I dont live in the UK they say to me "You are no longer eligible to have a bank account with them" Yes or no?

Edited October 22, 2012 by KKvampire

[chiang mai]

Many posters are referring to addresses in USa and far east. I have a UK address, I will no longer have an address in the UK. At the moment I get no statements from them because everything is online and paperless. Am I entitled to have an account with the banks with no address? Even if I dont inform them of moving when my bank cards expire over a two year period they will post them to the old address. If I say I dont live in the UK they say to me "You are no longer eligible to have a bank account with them" Yes or no?

You can keep your HSBC UK bank account and cards when you move overseas as long as you give them your address in Thailand to mail statements and cards to, I did this seven years ago and everything still works fine, you can do the same with other big banks but not the building societies.

[tomallison]

Many posters are referring to addresses in USa and far east. I have a UK address, I will no longer have an address in the UK. At the moment I get no statements from them because everything is online and paperless. Am I entitled to have an account with the banks with no address? Even if I dont inform them of moving when my bank cards expire over a two year period they will post them to the old address. If I say I dont live in the UK they say to me "You are no longer eligible to have a bank account with them" Yes or no?

You can keep your HSBC UK bank account and cards when you move overseas as long as you give them your address in Thailand to mail statements and cards to, I did this seven years ago and everything still works fine, you can do the same with other big banks but not the building societies.

Maybe Nationwide is the exception. I maintain an account with them at my Thai address. In theory they do not post replacement cards here.