Offshore current account

Many UK banks and building societies have offshore branches. If you've already held an account with any of them you could ask about opening an offshore account as well. Using a bank who already knows you will avoid you having to go through the money laundering identification process all over again.

I use HSBC in Jersey.

Well I'm not from the UK, so it really doesn't matter which bank I choose... For HSBC: can you do online international transfers to accounts of 3rd parties using a BIC/SWIFT and IBAN number? Do you get a UK-type sort code etc?

1. For UK residents, the most convenient location is the Channel Islands (or, less conveniently, the Isle of Man) because their cheques clear through the UK system. Gibraltar is not bad either.
2. C.I. accounts are (for complex reasons) no longer immune from sequestration by UK courts and bankruptcy receivers, including those invoked by the Inland Revenue.
3. You are not usually protected by mainland UK deposit insurance and guarantees. Use only banks/building societies in which you have confidence. Do not use the Bank of Sark or any institution you never heard of.
4. If you need protection from Inland Revenue then you need to be thinking further afield. The trouble with a Liechtenstein trust and a Swiss bank in Vaduz is something called the Lugano Convention -- which mandates the enforcement of UK non-tax judgments.
5. What bank you choose, and where you choose it, depends upon your reasons. If its tax avoidance, know that spending money in the UK via a credit or debit card charged to a foreign or offshore account does not protect you from the "remittance" basis taxation of foreign assets of non-domiciled taxpayers.

I had an account with one bank for 40 years. I wired them £50,000 and was immediately accused of possible money laundering.

In the end I had to send them my passport to resolve the issue.

You can do international transfers online, with a discount for transfers to other HSBC group banks worldwide.

Yes, the account is linked to the UK clearing system, so it has a UK sort-code, and you can pay UK bills etc online.

Let me know if you decide to open an account. I get £40 if I introduce a new customer!

I've just been asked to provide a certified copy of my passport, even though I've held the account with the bank for about 15 years

I think recent regulations now require banks to ensure they hold identification even for established customers who opened their accounts so long ago that they didn't have to do it in the first place.

In message , Chris Blunt writes

Sadly, recent KYC (Know Your Customer) rules in the Crown Dependencies mean that strict Money Laundering Rules apply, in some cases stricter than UK, and a Crown Dependency Subsidiary of a UK Bank must start afresh Money Laundering wise.

Also a UK Branch "should" not act as an intermediary when you open an offshore account, you must go direct, as the Irish bankers in Dublin are currently learning to their cost.

In message , Tam writes

That depends on where you live!

IOM protection is actually better than UK. (cant speak for CI)

And dont forget the EU Savings Tax Directive which will hit our own offshore Islands as well.