How can you acquire a European bankcard?

Why do you need a bank account in Europe if you live in another part of the word? Well, the Old World, as Europe used to be called, remains the most stable part of the planet in spite of all the troubles that periodically hit the world.

Do you remember the financial crisis of 2008? Most national states experienced serious problems, many banks and other financial institutions collapsed, and national currencies depreciated. Nothing terrible was happening in Switzerland nor Luxemburg though. Why? Because the wise financial policies in these countries provide for ironclad stability. We mean both the Government policies and those implemented by the banks themselves.

When do you need a European bank account? If you have business partners in this part of the world. If you make business trips there often. If you are a freelancer or a digital nomad whose clients live in Europe. If you would like to use the benefits of the European healthcare systems. If you would like your children to attend European universities. If you are an avid tourist and like travelling in Europe. Of course, there will be other reasons to set up an account with a European bank and acquire a plastic card that you can use wherever in the world you are at the moment.

Advantages of having a European bank account

• Banks in Europe generally have high liquidity. European countries have been using money for a great long time now and they do have vast experience in financial management. 
• Actually, you had better set up two or three accounts in two or three different European banks. In this way, you will have your capital protected against any political turmoil that may occur in any particular country.
• In some European banks, deposits are insured for up to 100,000 EUR.
• Putting money in a global investment fund is likely to bring high returns. 
• If you set up bank accounts in different currencies, you will be even better protected against any fluctuations that a particular national currency may experience. If the pound falls, the euro will rise, and the Swiss franc will remain stable forever!
• The level of personal information confidentiality that European banks provide is rather high. It is true that no financial institution in Europe can provide absolute banking privacy but there are possibilities to keep your assets from the eyes of the general public, your business partners, and competitors.

Which European bank should you apply for services to?

When choosing the bank that you would like to obtain service from, you have to assess it by four main criteria.

Criterion 1 – Online banking opportunities

If you would like to open an account with a European bank but you live somewhere else on the planet, you have to make sure that your money will be available for use and/ or withdrawal where you need it. Find out if you can order a pay card online, if you can transfer money from your home country bank to the European bank, and so on.  

Criterion 2 – Transfer security

Please take into account the security measures that the European bank employs. Most often, banks in Europe use PСI DSS and 3-D Security certificates that make money transfers impossible if no reconfirmation has been obtained from the financial service provider, that is, from the bank.  

Criterion 3 – Possibilities for integration with other services

Are you going to be able to integrate your European bank account with other applications such as Open Banking API, for instance? Integration optimizes routine business processes and allows adding your foreign bank account details to your bookkeeping applications, paying salaries to your employees, and making one-click mass payments of other kinds. 

Criterion 4 – Sympathetic customer support

In the era of global digitalization, banks in many countries ‘hire’ chatbots to communicate with clients who call the bank seeking support. Often, you can hardly speak to a living person no matter how hard you try to reach one. European banks, on the contrary, take very good care of their clients and you can be certain that you will have 24/7 customer support provided by a human being and not by a robot.

What type of banks are available in Europe?

You can set up an account with a traditional European bank, with a neobank, or with a payment system. The latter two types of financial institutions are, in fact, Fintech companies that provide digital banking services. They often have their own specializations: some of them are targeted at small business owners, others service freelancers, still others deal with high-risk businesses exclusively. There are many options to choose from indeed. The most important thing is to find a reliable financial institution.

We highly recommend that you apply for our Preapproval service. When you apply for a preapproval to a bank, you thus apply for a provisional consent on its part to provide financial services to you. This procedure takes less time than opening a bank account proper and the service is quite inexpensive. If your application is preapproved, you can send the full set of documents to the bank. If it is not, you can apply to another bank without wasting too much time and effort.

Can you open a line of credit in a European bank?

You can count on obtaining a loan from a European bank only after it has been servicing you for six or even twelve months. In addition, there have to be incoming and outgoing payments you’re your account and it is desirable that their total amount should exceed the amount of the loan that you are applying for.

Banks are not charitable institutions and before they give out loans, they have to make sure that the borrower is a reliable and a solvent person.

Where should you start? 

Please start with a free consultation on opening a foreign bank account. Offshore Pro Group experts will gladly help you open an account in a European bank whether you want a personal or a corporate account. Accounts can be opened remotely, without visiting the bank office. 

You can set up a bank account in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Poland, Georgia, and other European countries. The choice of the jurisdiction will depend upon your corporate needs and the urgency of establishing a European bank account and acquiring a bankcard.

Please post your queries to the email address specified above. We will be happy to answer all your questions about opening a European bank account!