WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:43.000 You moved abroad for freedom, not confusion, but your money, your taxes and your U.S. ties didn't stay behind. I'm Janice Diaz, an American living in Italy with more than 25 years in U.S. and global financial services. My co host, Robert Rigby-Hall is a dual U.S. UK citizen who spent his career leading international firms and developing cross border teams. Together for over a decade, we've built financial education for Americans abroad and U.S. connected families, helping you rethink what really follows you and how to make smarter decisions wherever you Live. Welcome to RethinkExpats! 2 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:57.000 Banking Without Borders how to reduce banking headaches as an American abroad. Please note this show is for education purposes. It's not tax, legal or investment advice. Always speak with a qualified professional about your situation. 3 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:27.000 Most Americans abroad do not lose money on flashy scams. They lose time, sleep and fees when a bank changes a policy and they are not ready. Today is about everyday banking. No jargon, no politics, just how to keep your money moving with less drama. What to expect? You will hear three life banking stories from Robert. After each story, I will give you a short spoken checklist you can follow today. Think of this as a comm system for busy expats. 4 00:01:27.000 --> 00:02:39.000 All right, let's start with story one, the closure letter. Evan lived in Italy for years. He kept a longtime U.S. bank account and used it for bills and transfers. One morning he received a letter. Because his legal address was outside the U.S. the bank would limit services and might close the account in 90 days. Evan didn't argue. He mapped the steps. He called the number on the letter and asked two questions. First, is this a full closure or a partial restriction? And second, what's the exact timeline? He wrote down names, dates and what was said. Then he opened a second relationship at a bank that openly serves U.S. citizens with foreign addresses. He didn't move everything at once. He sent a small transfer midweek. He confirmed it had arrived and and set up a tiny utility payment to test bill paying. And then he waited a full cycle. When that worked, he moved his paycheck routing directly and added his emergency funds. By the time the original account closed in 90 days, the new setup was already working and running smoothly. The point's simple. A bank policy change could be stressful, but it doesn't have to be chaotic. If you have a working backup and a clear timeline, it just becomes a calendar task and not a crisis. 5 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:54.000 Open a bank account with a bank that accepts U.S. citizens abroad. Make one small transfer this week and one small bill payment next week. Save the confirmations in Your email with the subject. Banking backup test. Do this now. 6 00:02:54.000 --> 00:04:13.000 All right, let's try our second story. And our second story is the stuck transfer. This is a great example. In real life, Priya, one of our clients, sold a car in the U.S. while living in Portugal. She wired the proceeds to Europe but the transfer stalled compliance wanted to confirm the source of funds, part of their anti money laundering. And the name and the sending account didn't match the receiving account exactly. So a normal payoff became a three day delay and a rent bill was due and missed. Priya changed her rhythm. She kept three pieces in place all of the time. One, small U.S. checking account with online wire access. Two, a local account with for daily life and three, a multi currency account to bridge between the two. Before large transfers, she kept a short source and purpose packet. A little note to herself ready to send. And it had two pages. Page one listed what the money was and where it came from. For example car sale, see attached receipt. And page two listed where the money was going and why. For example deposit for apartment lease. That way when a bank asked, she sent the packet and the wire cleared the same way. So nothing fancy. She just expected the question and answered it fast in writing with documents to support her answers. 7 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:39.000 That's I think the way she handled it is exactly how I've had to handle it too. You literally have to have three accounts. So what should you do now? Create a two page source and purpose document for your next large transfer. Page one, what the money is and proof. Page two, where is it going? And proof. Save it as a PDF and keep it in a folder with your passport, proof of address and last three statements. 8 00:04:39.000 --> 00:05:34.000 All right. Story three the brokerage surprise. I'm going to use Mark who moved to France. But this could be so many of us and it's personally happened to me. But Mark moved to France and updated his address with his U.S. brokerage. The right thing to do. However, overnight certain trading features weren't available to him any longer. Dividend reinvestment continued, but new purchases on some specific products were blocked. Nothing illegal happened. The firm just had different rules for non U.S. addresses. Mark emailed the brokerage firm to confirm what he could still do, what he could hold, what he could sell, how he could receive dividends, how he could withdraw cash and reinvest. He also opened a second platform that allows non U.S. residents to hold U.S. securities within its policies. He didn't change his strategy. He just changed some of the plumbing in the system that he was using. Two on ramps, two off ramps, clear rules and in writing. 9 00:05:34.000 --> 00:07:40.000 So what should you do now? Message your broker support and ask for a written summary of what actions are allowed with your current country on file. If any limits apply, open a second platform that supports a U.S. client abroad and tests a small cash in and cash out. That's very important. Five phrases that mean you're facing a slowdown. So these are five things that we commonly hear as expats being told where our accounts, you know could be held. And so number one, we do not support foreign addresses but keep using the card. This is a slippery slope because one day they're going to come and say we do not support foreign foreign addresses and then close the account. So you should be making backup situations so that you don't lose access. Just send the large wire. We will sort questions later. Policies change often we cannot confirm in writing. If there's a policy, they can put it in writing. You cannot have a second account if you already banked with us. Your transfer is pending. No reason provided. That happens a lot. And then you wait days and days and days and then they finally say why. Polite Reply Please send me a short note that explains the policy and any deadline so I can plan the Calm Banking checklist. Here's a simple list you can follow today. And again, you can get this off of our website as well RethinkExpats.com Keep two active banking relationships, one in your country of residence and one that supports U.S. citizens across borders. Maintain one multi currency currency path you have tested in both directions with small amounts for large transfers. Keep a two page source and purpose PDF ready. Store one digital folder with passport, proof of address, tax ID and last three statements. Set alerts for large deposits, withdrawals and new payees. Once a quarter, do a tiny test transfer to confirm. Everything still works. Your bank is a tool. Your plan is redundancy records and a routine you actually use. 10 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:54.000 Remember, you left the United States, but the United States did not leave your wallet. Keep your setup simple, tested and documented. That's how to avoid surprises. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.