Ask HN: Best Digital Banks for Nomads?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36769709

by funerr • 3 years ago

3 6 3 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Know any banks that are easily opened for personal/business digital nomading type of people?

wsc981• 3 years ago

You can use Wise [0] as a sort of bank (to receive money on) and the nice thing is, you can open accounts for many different types of currencies. This way, your clients can pay in their native currencies and you can just (cheaply) change into your local currency if needed, as Wise exchange fees are generally lower than most banks.

Wise also offers a debit card, but not available in every country.

But I am not sure if Wise is a real bank, so might not be covered by protection schemes. This is something you'd have to verify by yourself.

My previous US client paid to my USD account at Wise, my current AUD client pays to my AUD account at Wise. If I need to send money over from The Netherlands I use my EUR account at Wise. I usually transfer money over to Thailand, and Wise does the currency conversion (cheaper than banks from The Netherlands).

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[0] https://wise.com

bradwood• 3 years ago

Revolut

gregjor3• 3 years ago

Sure, if you don't mind their fees and ATM limits, or that they have run afoul of regulators in the UK (their base) for repeated non-compliance. They don't have a banking license. They do have tech bros, a demographic I personally don't trust.

dazc• 3 years ago

Agree, I've had both a Revolt account and a Wise account.

My Revolut account evaporated into thin air with no response from their so-called 'support' channel.

I became locked-out of my Wise account for some trivial reason, may have been my fault? Anyway, support required a selfie to reactivate but would not accept the image as it wasn't clear enough. I tried 3 or 4 times before giving up.

In both cases there wasn't much of a balance so I didn't bother going any further.

The lesson here is that any provider is likely not to be perfect, so don't put yourself in a position where losing access to the account is going to be a tragedy.

gregjor3• 3 years ago

I'm not sure what you mean by "digital bank." All banks store and move money digitally (electronically), most have web sites and apps. I think you mean the distinction between an actual (regulated, insured) bank and a company offering some bank-like financial services such as PayPal, Wise, Revolut, etc.

The best bank for someone who travels a lot without a fixed home base will charge no foreign transaction fees, no ATM fees (or reimburse ATM fees), 24/7 real person customer service (not a chatbot or FAQ or Twitter), insurance on deposits, and operate within a regulatory framework that offers protection from having your account locked or closed with no recourse, or deposits held unreasonably long with no explanation (Square, PayPal).

All reputable banks of any size can send and receive money electronically, either through their own tools or with digital wallets, or with Zelle or Wise or Venmo.

For US citizens/permanent residents I recommend Charles Schwab, the investor checking account. No fees, ATM fees reimbursed, 24/7 human customer service that actually deals with issues. Schwab gets recommended a lot by nomads. Citibank has a similar account, not sure what they call it. For people with citizenship or permanent residency in other countries I don't know the best bank but you can find discussions online in the many nomad forums.

As a long-time nomad (US citizen) with no home base anymore I use Schwab and have a backup account at a US credit union, along with several credit cards that have perks for travel. I use ApplePay more and more. I use Wise for moving money from one country to another, but I don't keep money in my Wise account. I tried Revolut, but too many fees, too many restrictions on number and amount of ATM withdrawals, online-only support, etc. made me drop it.

I suggest using credit cards and virtual card numbers when making purchases online or abroad, never use a debit card except at an ATM in a secure place (like inside a bank lobby). For Americans at least canceling unauthorized charges or getting a card canceled and reissued is much easier with a credit card versus a debit card. Think about what would happen if your Wise or Revolut card got stolen, or skimmed, or copied by a restaurant server. Banking problems while traveling can get expensive and frustrating.

Ask HN: Best Digital Banks for Nomads?

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