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Rantu and Mantu have been tremendous friends for years, working together in a production house. They meet five days a week in office, chatting merrily, discussing politics or cinema or books or anything from their respective work duties. Santu, the third friend in this rather closed-circuit gang often joins the discussions. All the three friends have been very creative in their respective fields of work. At least on one of the Saturdays or Sundays either Mantu or Santu or both inevitably visit Rantu’s residence for lunch and Rantu’s wife always manages with exemplary patience and presence of mind to not show her irritation or something like that and prepares dishes as per the preferences of Mantu and Santu together or separately that implies preparing separate dishes. Rantu takes it all in the spirit of friendship and thinks that his wife too likes the consistently cheerful weekly meetings.

However, Rantu is never known to be a fool or a taken-for-granted person. He has an analytical mind considering his creative work, mostly with the written words, and he often feels that somehow, he has always been at the receiving end: office meetings invariably take place in his room where he has to foot the bill for teas and snacks; and while the weekend visits always take place at his residence, he has never seen how the houses of Mantu and Santu look like as they, being proud bachelors, never bother about inviting Rantu and wife to avoid inviting trouble to their carefree existence.

He and his wife are definitely piqued when Santu gets married, visits them along with his wife and still does not invite them to their house, no longer a bachelor’s, but a family home now. Mantu, more or less a confirmed miser, vows never to marry fearing the double burden on his single salary thus preferring to remain a bachelor, and therefore his friendship with Rantu goes on rather unhindered. Yet, Rantu gets tired at times of this never-reciprocated friendship; but he counters this with his age-old belief that true friendship is always unconditional and it means liking a person irrespective of his/her virtues or defects. So, Rantu has been in the habit of ignoring minor happenings that are not to his liking.

But a day finally comes when Rantu suffers the biggest jolt and has to change his perception about friendship which is now doubly confirmed, added to this Santu’s one-dimensional behavior pattern even after getting two-dimensional.

At that time their office is very busy with the annual big event coming up shortly. Rantu is assigned to write and compile a book, capturing the enriching history of their organization. He diligently creates his team, ties up with a printing press and starts working at a furious pace. Notwithstanding his busy schedule he still entertains Mantu and Santu in the true spirit of friendship, more strengthened by his strong belief that ‘however busy you are, you can always find a spare moment for your dear ones’. To help our readers understand better when required we must tell you that Mantu and Santu are not at all associated with the office work of Rantu as they too have their respective assignments in other fields.

The dummy copy of his book arrives on that fateful day. Protocol demands he show the copy to the supreme boss of the organization for the final approval. Therefore, he phones up the boss’s personal secretary and accordingly fixes up an appointment. The moment he gets ready to go for the appointment with the book, his baby as he fondly thinks, ready in his hands Mantu comes in, smiling broadly and babbling about how bad the new movie has turned out to be. Rantu has been well-known in his office for his shyness, his inability to speak out assertively at the appropriate moment and his hesitation in talking about himself, forget boasting, in any possible manner.

So, Rantu does not think twice before inviting Mantu to accompany him to the boss’s chamber which he thinks is an endearing gesture in a true relationship. Mantu accepts immediately and they both leave for the appointment, the most important one for only Rantu.

The boss invites them in cordially and asks them to take their seats. Then he excuses himself to the rest room. Sitting there Rantu looks around and finds some new paintings on the walls. He hands over the book to Mantu, rises and takes a walk around the spacious chamber, appreciating the finer tastes of his boss. Mantu turns over the pages of the dummy apparently in a casual manner.

Rantu is only trying to have a good time-pass, and is ready to come back the moment the restroom door opens. As luck would have it, he gets a little late coming back to his seat. In the meanwhile, the restroom door opens softly, the boss comes back and occupies his majestic revolving chair. That moment’s delay costs Rantu dearly, because as he is in the process of sitting down Mantu has already handed the book over to the boss saying proudly “… have done it, Sir!”. Rantu is not sure what exactly Mantu has said at the beginning of his sentence and if Mantu had deliberately kept either ‘I’ or ‘We’ very soft.

Rantu has now felt very foolish, looking as if through the eyes of a dead fish at the boss who is busy turning over the pages, section by section. To his ultimate horror, the boss has started smiling and speaking in great appreciation; because the boss is looking directly at Mantu only and discussing the book with him only! Mantu also smiles back in the deepest possible gratitude answering him mostly in monosyllables as he never knew anything about the book.

Rantu tries very hard now to attract the attention of the boss with some hesitant and bitter rejoinders. But the boss ignores him completely and seals his final approval handing over the book to Mantu.

Helpless and dejected, and yet unable to chastise his friend with a resounding rebuke, and out of the boss’s chamber just takes the book back from a now-silent Mantu and enters his own room. He again tries very hard indeed to inform the members of his team that the book has been approved. The loud cheers addressed to him by his dedicated team fail to cheer him up, not really about not getting the due credit, but about the values of friendship thus blasted. How could a friend do this to a friend? He has no answer.

Fortunately for him, the cat gets out of the bag only two days later. As he happens to encounter the supreme boss in the main lobby, the latter asks him, “Where is your book? Why didn’t you show it to me?” again trying very hard, now to hide his surprise, he manages to respond, “But Sir! Mantu has already shown it to you!” “Who is the editor of the book, you or him?” the boss now looks at him sternly, “Show it to me this evening positively!” “Yes Sir, sure!”

That really cheers Rantu up, but the ‘friendship’ issue continues to haunt him and sadden him.

The topic of offshore internet banking is a hot one and one that is increasingly growing in popularity not only within the consumer banking community, but also the business or corporate banking sector.

The beauty of offshore online banking is that in addition to enabling you to conduct banking activities allowed by traditional and local brick and mortar businesses, it allows you more variety and flexibility in terms of your banking needs. For example, if you travel often, offshore online banking gives you the flexibility to conduct business on to go from anywhere, while ensuring that you have access to the type of currency if you need at a time you need it.

Having said that, not all banks offer online or internet banking services as this service costs the banks a significant amount of money. Programming sophisticated and secure systems require the effort of several full time computer engineers, full security and compliance departments, as well as heavy overhead to support the service on an ongoing basis.

Because there are so many variables involved in offering this service, offshore internet banking services vary from one financial institution to another. Some have better systems while others have work to do. A lot of this is predicated on the resources the bank has dedicated to this initiative, both in terms of quantity and quality.

Opening an Offshore Bank Account

Before diving further into this topic, I want to clarify that engaging in offshore internet banking is not about evading taxes. It is about mitigating risk of capital loss due to no fault of your own. So when considering a foreign jurisdiction in which to establish an offshore bank account, consider one that is politically stable and financially strong. In addition, it helps to select a jurisdiction that pays an attractive interest rate and has low to no income tax. Some of the most preferred jurisdictions over the years have been Switzerland, Cayman Islands, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Opening a personal bank account is usually a very personal activity. With offshore internet banking however, there are ways you can get started remotely without having to show up to the bank’s local office, saving a ton of time, money and mainly frustration.

One such way is by visiting a local bank’s branch in your domicile state, or home country. Many big banks that offer internet banking have a multi-national presence. Chances are good that your selected bank has a local branch near where you live, despite being headquartered in another offshore jurisdiction.

In other cases, there are international banks that may not have local branches near where you live, but are willing and able to establish an offshore bank account for you through email, snail mail, fax and telephone. There are usually a set of documents required by banks in order to execute this process. Therefore you can still open a foreign bank account with an offshore bank without having to leave your country, but it may come with a little more effort, and sometimes the struggle involved in communicating with someone overseas.

The Advantages of Offshore Internet Banking

Here are some advantages of offshore internet banking that you should know about.

Protection from sovereign risk – as mention already above, parking funds in foreign bank accounts mitigates the risk of loss of capital resulting from freeze or confiscation of funds by Governments without any fault of your own. This risk is less of a concern in a developed economy with a solid banking infrastructure such as the United States, but it is nonetheless an inherent risk that exists.

Tax benefits – many offshore jurisdictions have low to no income tax implications on interest income, or income from business activities.

Higher Interest Rates – because many offshore banks operate with low costs, they can afford to offer higher interest rates compared to larger multi-national names. In fact, in developed economies like in Europe and North America, regulatory compliance requirements is seen by many as form of taxation on banks, thereby increasing overhead costs and lowering interest rates.

On Demand Access to Statements – offshore internet banking gives you instant access to your statements where you can view your activities on a real time basis. This includes past and pending deposits and withdrawals. You can therefore access your account balance at anytime.

Money Management – with offshore internet banking you can transfer funds between accounts across the globe instantly. Offshore banks have inventories of various currencies and can help you fulfill banking transactions in multiple countries. You can schedule automatic payments to vendors to release automatically.

There are several other advantages to offshore internet banking. You can open offshore trading accounts and establish offshore brokerage accounts to conduct trading and investment activity (there can be tax advantages to this). Conducting transactions online is not only mostly free, but also very efficient. Transaction time online is simply much less. You can also have streams of income potentially directly deposited straight into your offshore online bank account.

From a personal finance perspective, downloading banking activity from your offshore online bank account is easy and can be done instantly. Most online banking platforms are designed to feed information into financial or personal accounting software or to spreadsheets like Excel. Individuals can save a significant amount on accountant fees just by utilizing this feature. Not to mention more intimate knowledge and management of their own finances.

For those looking for anonymity, offshore online bank accounts also allow you to conduct banking anonymously as per bank secrecy guidelines.

The Disadvantages of Offshore Internet Banking

Merely establishing an offshore bank account can be a reason for the Government to put more focus on your activities. After all, many use offshore internet banking as a mechanism to conduct illegal activity and evade taxes. Some specific disadvantages of offshore internet banking as a result of conducting business through foreign bank accounts are the following:

Knowledge of Internet – There is a certain level of internet savvy required to be able to navigate your way through offshore internet banking platforms to ensure you are getting exactly what you want. This is a big reason why some elderly shy away from conducting banking online.

Deposit Timeline – Because many banks do not have the technology to be able to collect deposits remotely, you may have difficulty depositing all your proceeds. While many banks have developed electronic scanning technology, others have yet to catch up. There is no consistency to say the least.

Security / Fraud Implications – because banking is conducted online, offshore internet banking exposes you to the risk of network intrusion or breach. Because information is transferred electronically and stored in various databases, breaches can cause private and sensitive information to leak out into the wrong hands. But then again, this is no different than losing your check book if compared to traditional brick and mortar banking.

Spam Mail – offshore online banking also means that you will receive emails from the foreign bank you have your offshore bank accounts with. Internet predators recognize this as an opportunity for phishing, or fish for private and sensitive information. Many times you may see an email in your inbox from what seems like your foreign banking institution. However it is not. These are phishing emails hoping for you to login and enter your personal information such as login and password.

TIPS: Here are a few tips to avoid falling for phishing scams. First, when you receive an email from your bank, call them to verify that they sent the email. Second, instead of opening the email they sent you, visit the bank’s website directly and see if you can conduct what’s asked of you on their site by you logging in directly rather than clicking a login link in an email message.

Third, if you were to open the email and click on any link in it for whatever reason, once the link takes you to a website where you are required to enter personal information, look for security symbols such as an https URL address or a padlock on the lower right hand side corner of the web browser. There are other security measures as well that can be visible spotted. Read online for more on this topic.

Financial Security – some offshore bank locations are not very financially secure or stable. For example, during the global economic crisis of 2008, many savers lost money parked in offshore bank accounts in some destinations such as Iceland. I don’t mean to scare you by any means as this situation is rare, and in most cases those who suffer losses are compensated in some way over time. However, know that this inherent risk exists. Always look for deposit insurance. The bigger the allowance the better.

Credibility by Association – as I’ve already mentioned, offshore internet banking has negative connotations attached to it, often associated with money laundering, use of illegal monies, untaxed monies and support of illegal causes. Offshore bank accounts at times are tied to crime rings and terrorists. What does this mean for you? Although you may engage in offshore banking legally and legitimately, understand that there will be closer scrutiny over you by the Governments.

Access Restrictions – offshore banks are in destinations far away from you, therefore more difficult and expensive to access. In many countries, communication in person is preferred to communicating over phone, email and snail mail, therefore internet banking can get a bit difficult and frustrating. I see this trend slowly changing with banks understanding the need to communicate at all levels and mediums to satisfy a global audience.

Expensive – offshore internet banking is usually more expensive to set up and administer and thus more accessible and feasible for those more affluent or high income earners. It’s not so much that it is expensive to open a foreign bank account. It is not. However, many times you will need to go through a firm that specializes in helping expatriates establish and manage foreign bank accounts. All these activities cost money.

Internet banking today is very convenient and is accessible to almost everyone. For the average individual it can be a great offshore tax planning tool to add to the mix. For those that travel, foreign internet banking can provide all sorts of convenience, allowing one to transact anywhere and with anyone. So if you liked what you read about offshore online banking, I highly recommend you look into it further to see how it can help you meet your objectives.

The Credit Heist!

Offshore Internet Banking Advantages and Disadvantages