2026-02-21

How to Set Up a Multi-Country Banking Strategy

If you live across borders, a single bank account in your home country is not enough. You need local accounts for daily spending, a hub account for receiving income, and possibly investment accounts in a third jurisdiction. Getting this wrong means paying excessive FX fees, losing card access when you move, or watching a bank freeze your account because you changed your address to a country they don’t serve.

This guide covers how to structure your banking across countries — which banks to use, how to keep accounts open after you leave, and how to minimize the friction of moving money internationally.

Why You Need Accounts in Multiple Countries

There are three practical reasons to maintain bank accounts in more than one country.

Local spending. ATM withdrawals and card payments in the local currency avoid dynamic currency conversion fees. If you live in Thailand and pay for everything with a US debit card, you are losing 1-3% on every transaction to conversion markup. A local Thai bank account with a baht-denominated debit card eliminates this.

Regulatory access. Some financial products — brokerage accounts, tax-advantaged savings, pension contributions — require a local bank account or local tax residency. If you want to invest through a Singapore-based brokerage, you typically need a Singapore bank account for funding.

Redundancy. Banks close accounts. They freeze them for compliance reviews. They restrict international access. If your only bank account is with a bank that decides non-resident customers are too much compliance risk, you are locked out of your money. Having accounts in two or three jurisdictions provides a safety net. For more on brokerage access issues, see How to Open a Brokerage Account as a Non-Resident.

Which Banks Accept Non-Residents

Not every bank will open an account for someone who does not live in their country. Here are the reliable options.

Multi-Currency Fintech Accounts

Wise (formerly TransferWise) is the default starting point for international banking. You get local account details in USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, SGD, and several other currencies — meaning you can receive money as if you had a local bank account in each of those countries. Wise is available in most countries and does not require local residency. Their FX rates use the mid-market rate with a transparent fee, typically 0.4-0.7% depending on the currency pair.

Revolut offers similar multi-currency functionality with broader coverage in Europe. Their premium tiers include fee-free ATM withdrawals up to a monthly limit and better FX rates on weekends. Revolut is particularly strong for people based in or moving between European countries.

Both Wise and Revolut are e-money institutions, not traditional banks, which means deposit protection varies by jurisdiction. Check whether your balance is safeguarded under local regulations before holding large amounts.

Traditional Banks With International Reach

HSBC Expat (based in Jersey, Channel Islands) is designed specifically for internationally mobile customers. They offer multi-currency accounts in GBP, USD, EUR, and several other currencies. The minimum balance requirement is significant (currently GBP 50,000 or equivalent), which puts it out of reach for many early-stage nomads. But if you qualify, it provides a stable, well-regulated hub account that will not close because you changed countries.

Citibank International Personal Banking offers accounts in multiple jurisdictions with the ability to move money between them easily. Available in Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, and the United Kingdom, among others.

DBS (Singapore) is willing to open accounts for non-residents in certain circumstances, particularly if you have a significant deposit or an employment pass. Singapore’s banking system is well-regulated and politically stable, making it a popular hub for Asia-based expats.

Standard Chartered has a presence across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and offers priority banking for international customers meeting minimum balance requirements.

Local Banks in Your Destination Country

For day-to-day spending, you will usually want a local bank account. The process varies dramatically by country:

Keeping Accounts Open After You Leave

This is where most expats run into trouble. You open a bank account while living in a country, build up transaction history, and then move away. Six months later, you get a letter asking you to confirm your current address. When you provide a foreign address, the bank either closes your account or restricts it to the point of uselessness.

Strategies for maintaining accounts:

Maintain a local address. If you have a trusted contact — family, a friend, a registered agent — who can receive mail on your behalf, use their address. This is not about deception; many banks simply need a valid mailing address. Just be aware of the tax residency implications of maintaining an address in a country.

Use the account regularly. Dormant accounts attract scrutiny. Set up a small recurring transaction — a streaming subscription, a monthly transfer, anything that keeps the account active. Banks are far less likely to review an account that shows regular activity.

Be proactive with compliance. If the bank asks for updated KYC documents (proof of address, source of funds), respond promptly. Delayed responses trigger account restrictions. Have digital copies of your passport, proof of address, and a recent bank statement ready to send at any time.

Upgrade to an international or premium tier. Some banks have international customer segments that explicitly support non-resident account holders. HSBC’s Premier or Expat accounts, Citi’s International Personal Banking, and similar products are designed for people who move between countries. The minimum balance requirements are higher, but the accounts are built for your situation.

Know when to close. Not every account is worth maintaining. If a bank charges high monthly fees, offers no useful services from abroad, and does not feed into your investment or spending strategy, close it on your terms rather than waiting for the bank to force the issue. Transfer the balance to your hub account and move on.

Managing Card Access Across Borders

Debit and credit cards are the everyday interface to your banking setup. Getting card access wrong means declined transactions, foreign transaction fees, and ATM withdrawal limits that make no sense for your spending patterns.

Travel notifications. Some banks still require you to notify them before using your card in a new country. Failing to do so can trigger fraud alerts and card blocks. Check whether your bank requires this and set up notifications if needed. Many modern banks and fintechs (Wise, Revolut, N26) do not require travel notifications.

Foreign transaction fees. Most traditional bank cards charge 1-3% on foreign currency transactions. If you are spending in a currency different from your card’s denomination, this adds up fast. Cards from Wise, Revolut, and Charles Schwab (US checking account with no foreign transaction fees and ATM fee rebates worldwide) avoid this.

ATM withdrawal limits. Know your daily and monthly ATM withdrawal limits in each country. Some banks impose low limits on international withdrawals. If you need to withdraw large amounts of local currency (for a rental deposit, for example), you may need to plan ahead or use a wire transfer instead.

Backup cards. Always carry at least two cards from different providers and different networks (one Visa, one Mastercard at minimum). Card networks have different coverage in different countries — Visa dominates in some markets, Mastercard in others. In some Southeast Asian countries, local networks like JCB or UnionPay have better acceptance than either.

Structuring Accounts for Spending, Saving, and Investing

A clean multi-country banking structure has three layers:

Layer 1: Income Hub

This is where your income lands. For freelancers and remote workers, this is typically an account in the currency you invoice in — usually USD, EUR, or GBP. Wise is ideal for this because it gives you local receiving details in multiple currencies, so clients can pay you as if you have a local bank account in their country.

If you earn in multiple currencies, see How to Track Freelance Income Across Multiple Currencies for strategies on managing multi-currency income.

Layer 2: Local Spending

Transfer what you need for monthly expenses to a local bank account in your current country of residence. This gives you a local debit card for daily spending, local bill payments, and ATM access without FX fees.

The transfer from your income hub to your local spending account is where you should pay attention to FX rates. Wise and Revolut offer competitive rates for these transfers. Avoid using your traditional bank’s international wire transfer — the markup is typically 2-4% on top of the wire fee.

Layer 3: Investment and Savings

Your investment accounts should be funded from your income hub. Whether you invest through a brokerage in the United States, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the funding flow should be: income hub → investment account, using the most cost-effective transfer method available.

For savings beyond your emergency fund, consider where you want to hold cash reserves. High-interest savings accounts vary dramatically by country and currency. Some nomads keep savings in a stable currency (USD, CHF, SGD) as a hedge against local currency volatility in the countries where they spend.

Currency Conversion Strategy

Every time you move money between currencies, you pay a spread. Minimizing unnecessary conversions is a key part of your banking strategy.

Match income currency to spending currency where possible. If you earn in EUR and live in Spain, keep your income in EUR and spend in EUR. No conversion needed.

Batch conversions for investing. Rather than converting small amounts daily, batch your investment funding into monthly or quarterly transfers. This reduces the number of conversion events and averages out short-term FX volatility. For more on how currency movements affect your investments, see How Currency Exchange Rates Affect Your Investment Returns.

Avoid double conversions. If you earn in USD and need to invest in a GBP-denominated brokerage, convert USD → GBP directly. Do not convert USD → EUR → GBP because your bank does not offer a direct USD/GBP pair. Use Wise or a forex broker for direct conversion if your bank’s options are limited.

Tracking Your Multi-Country Banking Setup

Once you have accounts in multiple countries and currencies, keeping track of balances, transactions, and your overall cash position becomes a challenge in itself. Spreadsheets work for a while, but they do not update FX rates automatically, and manually logging balances across six bank accounts gets tedious fast.

This is where a consolidated tracking tool matters. You need to see all your bank balances — in their local currencies and converted to your home currency — in one place. You also need to see how your cash holdings fit into your overall net worth alongside investments, property, and debt.

For a deeper look at consolidated net worth tracking across countries, see How to Calculate Your Net Worth Across Countries.

Get Started

FlashFi tracks cash accounts, investments, and debt across any currency, all converted to your home currency with live exchange rates. See your complete financial picture across countries in one dashboard.

Start tracking your multi-country finances — built for the way you actually live.

By David Brougham