What brokerages/banks do US Expats prefer?

[Stillwater007]

For those of you working/living overseas(US Expats), what bank(s) and/or brokerages do you prefer to use?

I will be retiring soon and will be teaching in Vietnam. I will also be receiving my State Pension while working overseas.

I am trying to find an American bank that will allow international transactions without all the fees. I'm also looking to find a brokerage that can allow me to continue to invest while I am overseas.

Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

 

[latexman]

In Dubai, I banked at Lloyds of London. More so because it was next door to The Trade Centre Apartments, where we lived.

In Singapore, I banked with DBS Bank.

At the time, all my investments were in the company 401k.

 

[rodi]

Schwab waives a certain number of ATM fees per month - and has a zero exchange rate...

 

[kevink]

During the 5 years we were expats in Mexico our Schwab account was invaluable. They refund ALL ATM fees worldwide and are great to deal with. Vietnam appears to be even more of a cash economy than Mexico.

You do want to have an established physical (not PO Box or mail forwarding service) address for any US brokerage accounts and tell them you’re traveling overseas not moving there. A family member or trusted friend willing to let you use their address as your legal one can be very helpful.

If you do open a local bank account don’t keep more than a few thousand dollars in it and know the FATCA requirements.

 

[Surewhitey]

During the 5 years we were expats in Mexico our Schwab account was invaluable. They refund ALL ATM fees worldwide and are great to deal with. Vietnam appears to be even more of a cash economy than Mexico.

You do want to have an established physical (not PO Box or mail forwarding service) address for any US brokerage accounts and tell them you’re traveling overseas not moving there. A family member or trusted friend willing to let you use their address as your legal one can be very helpful.

If you do open a local bank account don’t keep more than a few thousand dollars in it and know the FATCA requirements.

We did the same, but with 2 different banks that reimbursed the atm fees in Mexico. We did mostly cash transactions, but CC's were also used without fees. In 3 years, not a problem, except 1 time the atm didn't spit out the money. There's a process for that too. In the end, all good.

Use reputable ATM's though. Not ones of no-name banks... HSBC, Santander, Scotiabank, etc.

 

[NYEXPAT]

We lived in Peru for almost 20 years and used Schwab the whole time. Great experience!

 

[teej1985]

Most expats use Interactive Brokers.