Where can I find an English language staff in off-shore bank(s) that
will open for a (non-resident) a trade name checking account with an
opening deposit of less than $1,000.00 and which bank(s) will issue
check books, deposit slips, forward canceled checks and bank
statements to the USA office?

The bank can be in Latin America, Europe, Far East or any place that
will provide the services requested for a reasonable service and
maintenance fee.

Tell me your price to locate such bank(s)?

---

Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 30 Dec 2002 19:44 PST

Is this a personal bank account corporate bank account or anonymous
bank account?

Also, would you be willing to go through a domestic fee based firm or
similar business managment company in order to get this account?

Regards
tutuzdad-ga

Dear unabancbob-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.

I’ve searched extensively in an effort to find institutions that meet
your requirements and I after examining MANY of them and weeding out
the firm assisted banking offers and the obviously questionable ones,
I was able to put this list together for you.

I will not begin to second-guess your knowledge of offshore banking
but I would be remiss if I did not offer at least this tidbit of
advice. Placing your hard earned funds in the hands of those who might
be governed by entities other than US banking institutions or those
whose governments may not be as stable as the one to which you can I
are accustomed, can indeed be a risky proposition. I encourage you to
personally investigate the sincerity and the solvency of each of these
institutions thoroughly before making your decision, as my research is
in no way indicative of their reliability or legitimacy.


Having said that, here they are: 


CASH PRIVACY
Offers an offshore ATM card that can be used much like a check or cash
that can be replenished using SWIFT international transfers. The card
bears no name or ID and can be used at 634,700 ATM's in 119 countries
worldwide. You do not have to appear in person. The application
process can be done 100% by fax, phone or email.
http://www.cashprivacy.com/cards/anonymous/atm/cash/cirrus/products.htm


FIRST CITIZENS BANK
(FCB Trust & Merchant Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of First
Citizens Bank Limited. The Trust & Merchant Bank was formed by the
amalgamation of the former Mortgage and Trust Company and the Merchant
Bank. Registered Offices: #9 Queen's Park East, Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.)
http://www.firstcitizenstt.com/p_s/chequing.html
You can open a Personal Checking account with a minimum opening
deposit of 250.00 and you will receive monthly statements. It provides
a means for you to complete the application for and subsequent paper
work online, via phone, fax or mail.
http://www.firstcitizenstt.com/fcb_forms/chequing.asp


GRIFFON BANK
“Open your personal internet bank account now, simply complete the new
personal account form, print it, sign and fax it and mail it along
with a certified copy of your ID and supporting documents to the
Bank.” Requires US$500 minimum. Account can be ready in as few as 24
hours.
“Griffon Bank is a private international bank established in 1997 in
the Commonwealth of Dominica under the Offshore Banking Act 1996,
which provides international offshore online banking services. All
activities of the bank are under the strict supervision of the
Government of Dominica and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.”
http://www.griffonbank.com/


LOYAL BANK
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY AND KINGSTOWN, ST, VINCENT W.I.
http://www.loyalbank.com/eng/index.html
Application is downloaded from their web site and it, along with
pertinent documents can be sent via mail in order to open account. No
need to be physically present. Account minimums though are unclear.
You may need to read their contract a bit closer. Requires Adobe
Acrobat that you can download from their site if you don’t already
have it.
http://www.loyalbank.com/eng/open_pers.html


ANGLO AMERICAN BANK
http://www.angloamericanbank.com/
Pimento House, Grand Anse, St.George's, Grenada WI
Phone: 1 (473) 435 07 42
Fax: 1 (473) 435 07 44, 439 38 68
https://www.angloamericanbank.com/contacts/headquarter.php
“Our Checking Account is a highly liquid account that provides access
to your funds at any time. Minimum account balance is $1,000. If
monthly account average balance is less then $1,000 a monthly
maintenance fee of $10 will be charged from the account.”
APPLY ONLINE
https://www.angloamericanbank.com/apply_online/


In addition, SPECTACULAR PRO offers an Offshore Banking Directory for
only US$19.95 that will let you choose between the 1,500 offshore
banks that best suits your needs listed by country in Switzerland,
Liechtenstein, Caribbean, Middle East & Asia, Latin America, Africa
and a number of Internet banks. All the links on this directory will
take you directly to the banks website and not a fee based firm or
middle-man broker.
http://www.speculatorpro.com/offshore_bank_directory.htm


Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for using Google Answers.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga


INFORMATION SOURCES

References to links are listed within the research


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:


OFFSHORE BANKING

OFFSHORE CHECKING

OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS

OFFSHORE BANKING

OFF SHORE CHECKING

OFF SHORE ACCOUNTS

OFF SHORE BANKING

OFF SHORE BANKING

I know this probably won't apply to you, but be careful when shopping
at Amazon. I recall a news story saying that Amazon gave the IRS all
its financial records regarding costumers who paid with an off-shore
debit card but who got the books delivered locally.

The problem, I think, is not obtaining names and address of "banks"
willing to accept your deposit of 1/2 million dollars, but rather
reluctance to recommend what might be a pretend bank, which may steal
part or all of your deposit, with malace, or sloppy lending methods. A
long jail term for your banker does not compensate you if your money
is lost. Some experts may fear you are some kind of a cop, trying to
arrange a sting operation for fraudulant banks and/or customers
attempting money laundering.  Neil

Sorry that 1/2 million dollars should have been $500, but banking
cops, google experts and bankers don't know that you won't deposit 1/2
million dollars next week, so my analysis still applies. Most banking
laws require the banker to be sure of the identity of each customer.
Certainty is shaky even with the customer in the bank, High risk by
mail or internet. Perhaps next decade you will be able to transmit
your entire DNA code when you open an account remotely.   Neil

There are a number of on line, off shore banks, where all transactions
(including opening an account) are done electronically.  An example is
the AngloAmerican Bank in Grenada:

http://www.angloamericanbank.com/

where individual checking accounts can be opened for $1,000 minimum.

Other such banks (both domestic and offshore) are included in a list
at:

http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Financial_Services/Banking/Banks/Internet_Banks/

Having said this, I'll also add that I have no familiarity whatsoever
with any of these organizations, so buyer beware...but good luck!

As to your original question which you later edited.

I think you should call up off-shore country consulates in your area
and ask if they have a public notary on staff. Then you could
authenticate your identity through their notary public and you
wouldn't have to deal with the more shaddy off-shore banking
institutions.

PS: The cost of a notary public is usually set by the origining
government, so it shouldn't be that expensive and it shouldn't be as
expensive as a formal letter of introduction.

Exercise some caution before sending any money.

Anyone advertising an offshore bank from some "island" over the
internet that offers checking accounts in US$ with a low opening
balance sounds suspicious.

Think about the following scenarios:
1. The "bank" deposits your money but you can not seem to withdraw it
and
US banks can not seem to cash your checks :-(

2. An official at the "bank" threatens to turn you in to the US
government
unless you send them more "deposits".

3. The account is legitimate but it is being hyped by a 3rd party. In
this case there may be large fees that you might avoid simply by
traveling to the foreign country in question and opening the account
in person.

Many foreign banks will open accounts for US citizens and companies
who have
legitimate business purposes or who wish to save and invest in their
country. Proper disclosure of these accounts to the US govt is just 1
form -- they want the account number, name and address of bank, and
rough balance (less than $10k,$10k-$99k, $100k-$999k, etc...).

You might check out www.quatloos.com for a wide variety of free info
and warnings about ofshore scams, "asset protection", and similar
issues.

Check out http://www.letter-of-credit.net/offshoreassetprotection.htm.
There is some good information regarding offshore banking.