Welcome to my Paragon Theory, a Gateway to a New World of Personal & Financial Freedom.
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The 7 Steps to Freedom Step 2: Open an Offshore Bank Account
Get your money out of the country before your country gets the money out of you. WG Hill
Let me ask you some important questions. How safe do you think your money is in a domestic bank account? Do you trust your local bank? Do you trust your politicians? Do you trust the government to look after your interests? I’m assuming you don’t, which is why you’re reading my reports. So let me state quite clearly, the money you have worked hard to acquire and the assets you have built up are all under threat.
When you keep your money in a domestic bank account you are vulnerable to a number of risks. The first risk is the fact that your government can access your bank account without your permission. If the state believes you owe it money, and you’re not willingly paying up, then it’s easy for it to directly access your bank account and siphon off your money - literally while you sleep!
The second risk is devaluation of your money. One of the most insidious things the state does is use monetary inflation as a way of paying for things that can’t be afforded. Trouble is, this constant inflation eats away at the value of any money you have saved - which undermines its future purchasing power. When you bank domestically you are hostage to your government’s inflationary policies and could face a future financial catastrophe.
The third risk is of outright confiscation or default. This may seem far-fetched, but given the dire state of most government finances, it is entirely possible that a “bank holiday” could be announced and that you could lose access to your funds for a period of time. Even worse, such a bank closure could be used to announce an immediate devaluation - wiping out a significant part of the value of your cash savings overnight.
The only way to protect yourself against such possible predations is to ensure your savings are safely out of harm’s way - sitting in a reputable bank overseas and held in the most advantageous foreign currencies.
This is where offshore banking comes in.
An offshore bank is simply a bank in a country other than your own - “offshore” to your home country. So if you’re in the USA, then even Canada could be seen as offshore. Offshore banking is perfectly legal (for now!) and even though such banking practices get bad press, you are fully entitled to bank wherever you like.
Some countries require you to report the existence of an offshore bank account - as does the USA at present. In the case of the US, this reporting requirement kicks in when you have in excess of $10,000 on deposit. So while you lose any financial privacy as a result of such reporting, you still get to keep your funds at “arm’s length” from possible seizure by your home country’s government.
However, the overriding concern of many people right now is the possibility of capital controls being implemented. This is not simple fear-mongering, as at any time of economic hardship, especially with possible sovereign debt defaults, governments close ranks and may seek to impose capital controls to stem the outflow of money. In this way getting yourself set up with an offshore bank account now - not later - is of the utmost importance. In fact I’d go so far as to say this is the single, most straightforward thing you can do in the way of immediate financial “self defence”.
The primary requirements when opening an offshore bank account are as follows:
- Photo ID - usually your passport
- Proof of Address - usually in the form of a utility bill
- Bank Reference - sometimes required as part of application process
- Know Your Customer (KYC) info, like what’s your line of work, source of funds etc.
- Account Opening application form to be completed
- Opening Deposit - usually in the region of $5,000, but can be as low as $1,000
Offshore banks do not lend money, due to the fact they are not prepared to advance funds on properties outside their jurisdictional reach. Nor do they offer normal credit cards, where you can gain access to credit. However, the more common use of Visa or MasterCard debit cards gives you the same functionality of a credit card, but draws funds directly from your offshore bank account.
Offshore accounts must be funded by bank wire, and money can be withdrawn either by bank wire or by using a debit card.
I consider getting an offshore bank account to be both a practical and emotional first step on the freedom road. Why “emotional”? Because most people are deeply wedded to the idea of domestic banking and are actually fearful of banking offshore. So taking that first step offshore by opening such a bank account is a significant step forward, and creates a new mindset - as you will discover when you have done it!
