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Anybody knows of good online banks for Europeans?


by @kfk 8yr  | 6 comments

Ok, I was just writing a PM here on banks and the question popped in my head. I am not a digital nomad, but I am very close to that way of living, in the sense that I donโ€™t want to commit to any specific physical location, long term investment (maybe only private pension), long term in general actually.

Now, I use Deutsche Bank. Nothing against them, but:

  • I hate to have an account manager that calls me telling me I should invest my money
  • The online banking is good but not great
  • Services are ok, but I donโ€™t use most of them and the one I would like (online everything please) are not there

So, I was wondering if any of you is happy with any of the digital banks out there? Criteria for a good online bank:

  • minimal paperwork
  • no account manager
  • 90% async communication (I call them, they call me only if the house is on fire)
  • they donโ€™t request a physical address and they DO NOT SEND PAPER STUFF to my mailbox

Anything like this?

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@repat 8yr

Although personally having no problems with N26 I wouldnโ€™t 100% recommend it since a friend of mine couldnโ€™t use his account for 2 months because of some IT error. The support never had any idea what was going on and gave him the same answers again and again. Luckily this wasnโ€™t his only/main account. Also, the master card I got from them is prepaid. You might run into problems paying with it on the internet on some websites. Iโ€™m not sure if they changed that by now.

DKB is more professional, Iโ€™ve never gotten any ads or other mail besides the VISA and Maestro Card. Big plus is that you can use any ATM and donโ€™t pay extra fees. Iโ€™ve heard rumors that they might want to get rid of that, but then Iโ€™d use Consors, since (besides realiability and the price) thatโ€™s my main concern.

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@tkrunning 8yr

N26 seems like a good bet for youโ€ฆ They do require an address to sign up, as do all other banks, but they only ever send you your cardโ€”no other junk.

Revolut is another option. Although not a fully fledged bank (rather a prepaid card), itโ€™s great especially if you move money between/earn/spend USD, GBP, and EUR.

Both Revolut and N26 have certain fair usage policies, but for most users, between them youโ€™ll pay next to no fees. Together with Schwab Bank, they are my two primary ways of spending money abroad, and Iโ€™ve never had to pay a single fee. Exchange rates are also great (except Thai Baht for Revolut at times).

I did write a quite comprehensive post about banking for nomads last year (itโ€™s due for a refresh soon, but it should still be fairly up to date), maybe that can be of help as well :slight_smile:

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@kfk 8yr

Iโ€™ll check N26 too. I am resident and I pay taxes in Germany (though my German is pretty bad), so this could be an option.

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@kevit 8yr

N26 have extremely slow and unprofessional support, plus they got some problems with blocking of users early this year

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In The Netherlands we have Bunq, a startup with a banking license, and they are the bomb.

  • No paperwork
  • Adding up to 10 bank accounts to your user for free
  • Everything works via an app
  • Instant customer support via chat within the app
  • Payment verification via a selfie or finger print
  • They donโ€™t invest your money, their business model is pay per use
  • You pay โ‚ฌ8,-- for a debit card, โ‚ฌ0,05 per transaction and โ‚ฌ0,80 per cash withdrwal and thatโ€™s it
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@kfk 8yr

Bunq is great! The support is quick (like they answer you in 2 minutes quick) and everything looks good on the app side.

Unfortunately you can only open a bunq account from a Dutch (iDEAL) bank. They told me they are looking into this and hope to come to a solution for other countries as well.

They also need to beef up their content. I get they are a bank and as such your money is guaranteed up to 100,000 in case of bankruptcy, but there are many other bad things that can happen and I want to feel confident they will be here 10 years from now.

But overall is great, Iโ€™ll keep an eye on them.

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Read and participate in 14,117 discussions on Nomad List

Suggested topics

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What is the best online insurance for digital nomads ?


by @berberos 4yr 4 years ago  | 4 comments

Hi guys ! hope you are doing well.

I would love to get your feedback regarding the best insurance for digital nomads. i'm traveling around Asia since 1 year and for next 4 or 5 years. Would love to buy an insurance to cover especially :

- health

- laptop, phone ...

- Flights

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Anybody bring their car to Mexico instead of flying?


in Mexico by @digitaldiva 4yr 4 years ago  | 2 comments

Iโ€™m curious whether anyone drove to Mexico instead of flying and used their car down there. Iโ€™ve heard bad stories of people driving down there but not sure I believe them. How safe is it to drive through rural areas, and to park in cities? It would be cool to have the car to explore while there.

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How to get SMS verifications for banks while traveling?

 

by @jackgopack 4yr 4 years ago  | 38 comments

Any suggestions for seamlessly receiving SMS Verifications from US financial institutions and other sites while traveling internationally continuously? Wonโ€™t keep my US Verizon account due to cost and currently plan to use local sims at each destination (T-Mobile and Project Fi are NOT an option as they terminate for continuous roaming). In summation, I wonโ€™t have a US mobile account.

Unless Iโ€™m missing something, which is very possible, this appears to be the single most complex issue Iโ€™ve encountered in my preparations, and one that no one addresses. I would greatly appreciate any possible solution that works 100% of the time. Canโ€™t afford surprises in this regard. Many Thanks! Jack.

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What's the best place to incorporate an online business?

 

by @octave 5yr 5 years ago  | 63 comments

I have an commerce website. We get around 1000 orders per month and this is going to get quite a bit bigger in next few years.

I am British. I live in Thailand.
Im not allowed to majority own a Thai business and small foreign entrepreneurs are not really welcome. So i need an offshore company.

I need PayPal and an ecommerce internet merchant account. Also looking at alternatives like worldpay. 2checkout etc

Does PayPal need me to be a resident to the country i register my account to? Are there complications being a non resident to get other payment solutions?

Apparently in Hong Kong you need 2 years trading history to get an Internet Mechant Account and they generally turn their noses up at those with less than $1m(us) a year turn over. Singapore seems a bit easier.

I really want to avoid paperwork and book keeping. I hate it.

So i was looking at Seychelles, Panama, BVI, Belize.

Does anyone have experience with payment providers in these countries?

Most nomads i see donโ€™t really have a high volume of small monthly transactions which i do. Im going around in circles and donโ€™t know where to start.

Ill also need a bank account for business and a personal bank account to pay my salary into

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Anybody recommend US health insurance with global coverage?


by @tylertringas 5yr 5 years ago  | 18 comments

Any US nomads found health insurance with global coverage? My current approach has been to have US health insurance, essentially a waste of money but if I ever got very sick I could go home and have coverage. My actual healthcare is a combination of travel insurance (havenโ€™t really used it much though) and paying cash in cheap places like SE Asia and Latin America. The cobbled together approach is neither simple nor very cost-effective. Love to find a product with global coverage that also satisfies Obamacare requirements. Any leads?

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Pacific islands with decent internet speed to work online


by @paxai 5yr 5 years ago  | 1 comment

Any digital nomads that have lived for an extended period of time on a pacific island? I am planning on moving with my girlfriend for a 6 month period to a pacific island, and planning to live of copywriting and some other online work.

Have been looking at islands like Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands ++. Main problem is that many places seem to have expensive/bad internet speeds and access.

I dontยดt need superfast internet, but it has to be good enough for me to surf, send e-mails, download pictures, update webpages and so on. Either good internet cafes or the possibility to rent appartments with internet that doesnt suck or blow our budget.

Any recommendations for the perfect pacific island for working online?

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Best online Bank for Digital Nomads


by @nilanjan 6yr 6 years ago  | 0 comments

Hi All,
Can you suggest a cheap but reliable online Bank for Nomads?
What I meant by " cheap" is decent " service charges".

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I wanna go a month in a greek island, anybody has advice?


by @leghoff 6yr 6 years ago  | 0 comments

Hey there, i wanna spend one month on a greek island in August. Just need a view by the sea in a small village. Anybody has advice? By the way, i am a translator, so i need Internetโ€ฆ

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Anybody with a software consultancy having issues finding clients while travelling?


by @raz 6yr 6 years ago  | 4 comments

I recently started running a software consultancy in the UK that specialises in MVP development and onboarding/marketing strategies. I found it relatively easy to get leads by attending networking events (quite a lot here in Edinburgh).

I plan to start travelling soon, though. Has anybody tried to travel while running a software consultancy? Iโ€™m really curious to find out how you handled finding new clients while doing that. Letโ€™s say that if I go networking somewhere in Asia I wonโ€™t find clients willing to spend much on a project (and canโ€™t just pay my employees less because I canโ€™t find good paying projects).

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Internet Speed (Teaching English Online)


by @teacher 6yr 6 years ago  | 0 comments

Hi guys.

Iโ€™ll be travelling to Peru soon to volunteer and thinking to teach online in Cusco. Iโ€™m wondering what the best set-up would be for speeds high enough to teach via video-platform online. Iโ€™m open to getting a SIM Card with a data package, getting a dedicated internet provider for a private apartment or using an ethernet cable to increase speed.

Thank you,
Seda

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Is anybody a Digital Nomad in the UK and not a resident?


by @creative_nomad_ 6yr 6 years ago  | 6 comments

The situation is that my BF is a UK citizen and I am not. We are traveling around SEA and planning to stop in the UK for 6 months to rekindle funds. Granted, the UK is not the cheapest place to rekindle funds, however, he can work and get a good job there.

I have already done my working visa in the UK so I canโ€™t legally work there again. Iโ€™m a graphic designer and web designer and have decided that I will try and get freelance work to support myself whilst Iโ€™m over there.

My question is more related to tax and visas. I am an Australia citizen so I can get a 3 month tourist visa. Iโ€™m just a little worried about how strict they are over there on visas and questioning finance etc

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Health Insurance for Europeans?


by @patrickheneise 6yr 6 years ago  | 4 comments

Hi there, Iโ€™m currently looking at Allianz Global and IM Global as a health insurance for long-term travel in Asia. Any experiences with those two or are there better options for European residents?

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Best EU banks for Ukrainians?


by @anatoliykmetyuk 6yr 6 years ago  | 1 comment

Hi everyone!

I have recently opened a company in Estonia, and now looking for a bank to open a private account to receive salary to. Thing is, I am a Ukrainian citizen, and the fees are huge when making payments from my Estonian company bank account to the Ukrainian private account. For EU transfers, there are no fees. Also I do not feel my money are safe in Ukraine.

So currently I am looking for a bank in EU to open a private account with.

My priority is to have the costs associated with the account as low as possible. E.g. Iโ€™m fine with paying โ‚ฌ200-300 to open the account, but it is a no-go for me if they require a monthly maintenance fee of โ‚ฌ20-30. Which many of them do for foreigners. Also if they need an initial deposit or minimal remainder on the account of โ‚ฌ1000+, this would be a strain for me. Another priority of course is nomad-friendliness: if I decide to withdraw the money outside the EU in a non-EU currency, I should not pay more than 5% in fees. And internet banking and customer support is also of importance, as I believe frequent visits to the bankโ€™s country would be inconvenient for me as a non-resident.

So far I have looked at Swedbank, Rietumu and BlueOrange, all from Latvia. So far I had a great experience with Estonian corporate banking, so another Baltic country seemed like a good option to me. However, all of these banks have high maintenance fees for non-EU residents, from โ‚ฌ20 to โ‚ฌ50 per month. Also OrangeBlue has a minimal balance requirement of โ‚ฌ1000.

All in all, I am very unexperienced in the matter of banking and am a bit in a loss. Can anybody kindly advise me on the โ€œbig pictureโ€ of banking in EU from the non-EU clientโ€™s perspective?

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Does anybody have experience with being a digital nomad on Cabo Verde?


by @marthavanderbly 6yr 6 years ago  | 4 comments

I am contemplating to spend some digital nomad time on Cabo Verde. But as it is not yet on the Nomad List I was wondering if anyone has been there and what it is like re: Internet speed and accommodation?

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Is anyone using Charles Schwab vs N26 banks?


by @mary_oleksiuk 7yr 7 years ago  | 11 comments

Hi nomads! Iโ€™m trying to figure out all props and cons of using Charles Schwab vs N26 banks. Is anyone using those banks? If yea - what you like/dont like about it. And if income is mostly in US which one is better to open?

Thanks

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What are good US-based banks for digital nomads?

 

by @ramblurr 7yr 7 years ago  | 24 comments

For some of us maintaining a US Based Bank is just a necessity. Either we never pick up residency abroad, or have a US based business for which a US based account makes life easy.

Purely online personal banking is a growing trend. Schwab has a great checking account that reimburses ATM fees and has no international fees, Simple is a new online only bank with tons of great features (though not so great for nomads abroad).

Anyone know of similar services for small business online?

Features Iโ€™m looking for:

  • Business accounts (not a human name on the account)
  • Great website experience
  • Photo Check deposit
  • Cheap / below-average transfer and wire fees
  • Cheap fees / minimum balance requirements
    I prefer storing my cash in personal accounts or investment accounts
  • Free international use of cards
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Quito Ecuador anybody?


in Quito , Ecuador by @jjuter 7yr 7 years ago  | 3 comments

I was thinking of living in Quito for a few months. Anybody have any experience there?

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Has anybody encountered a travel gear mfr that intentionally makes crappy-looking gear?


by @octavient 7yr 7 years ago  | 8 comments

Has anybody ever encountered a travel gear manufacturer that makes gear that is solid and durable, but that is intentionally designed to look old and crappy? For international travel, I want good, durable gear, but Iโ€™m uncomfortable walking around with slick, brand-new-looking, expensive-looking gear (especially with my family in tow). Iโ€™m happy to snatch up any good used gear (reduce, reuse, recycle) that weโ€™re lucky enough to encounter, but selection is limited, and durability is often compromised. Seems like thereโ€™d be a decent market for some durable but ragged-looking travel gear. What i have in mind is luggage, backpacks, laptop cases, smartphone cases, camera bags, infant/toddler carriers, etc. Iโ€™m sensitive to the preppy fad of clueless, well-off westerners dressing up like the poor in naive but trendy mockery, but thatโ€™s not what Iโ€™m after, here. I just want good gear that doesnโ€™t put a target on my back as we traipse around various parts of the world. Anybody have any thoughts on thisโ€ฆ?

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Anybody around Europe over the next few months?


by @paulrose 7yr 7 years ago  | 9 comments

Hi All

Soโ€ฆ a few months ago when I was in Asia, for some reason I decided that it was gonna be too hot over the summer months and I wanted to mix it up with a few months touring Europe. So I had the idea to buy and RV and drive round for a few months.

Meet Teagan :slight_smile:

Itโ€™s taken a few months going through the process of getting my license to drive the RV, because itโ€™s so large it wasnโ€™t covered on my standard driving license. Add to that, I had some solar panels fitted for unlimited power, and a massive satellite dish for internet wherever I go.

Iโ€™ve now got my ferry booked out of the UK for September 11th and at the moment have no plans past the first few weeks.

Has anyone on here done anything similar before? Any places recommended, or anyone around Europe over the next few months?

Iโ€™m doing about 3 months worth before heading to Vegas for NYE and around the states for a few months after that before back to Asia for a bit.

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Has anybody with a Hong Kong company been through an Offshore Profits claim?

 

in Hong Kong by @prof 7yr 7 years ago  | 23 comments

Iโ€™ve just hit the 18-month mark of business in Hong Kong ready to submit by first Profit Tax Return. I also have the option of filing an Offshore Profits claim.

The Offshore Profits claim itself seems to be a convoluted, long drawn-out process with significant costs to bare in working with a certified CPA to answer Inland Revenue Department questioning.

Iโ€™d love it if somebody who has been through this already were able to answer the following questions:

  • How long did it take for the claim to be accepted or denied?
  • What was the end result?
  • How much did the IRD dig into each transaction?
  • How much did you pay your agent to deal with the offshore claim?

Any insights are much appreciated! :slightly_smiling:

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