I have some concerns about the US dollar right now so have opened a bank account in another country. Here are some quick points about my experience:
- I went with Royal Bank of Canada after speaking with a Canadian friend and looking at this link (https://gfmag.com/award/worlds-safest-banks-2024-global-50/) & seeing they're basically third after all of the banks in Switzerland and Germany. They were also largely not impacted by the 08 depression like other countries/banks. Switzerland requires multi-six figure minimum deposits and I just can't swing that, and Germany has demonstrated severe lack of judgment in the last few years (rise of their far right, removing their nuclear power for coal, etc). I also think that if the U.S. attempts to seize or freeze women's assets that Canada would not comply since that's a basic human rights violation.
- I called and explained what I wanted to do. I explicitly said I wanted a Canadian savings account so that it wouldn't be FDIC backed, it would be Canadian insurance backed. They said that was fine and I didn't need a Canadian SIN (SSN) or a Canadian address to open one. If you go to their main site that is offered if you're in the U.S. and just search for it, or you sign up at one of their branches in the U.S., AFAIK it is an American account that is a subsidiary and is backed by the FDIC. It is not the same thing.
- I opened it over the phone. I could have made an appt, but they are booked out through the end of March in the areas nearest to me. Over the phone means I can go in person on my own time to verify my identity. For phone account creation they need passport identification and another government id (I used my driver's license.)
- There are no minimums required; they only allow 1 free transfer per month from their savings account unless you have a chequing acct with them, in which case all transfers between the two are free.