Many foreigners believe that the whole process of opening a bank account in another country is a difficult and complicated process. This is due to the fact that you need to provide more documents than opening a bank account in your country of origin. In addition, expatriates will also need to learn about new and important rules or policies that may be applicable to this foreign country that they did not know about before.
Thus, for expats to open a bank account in a foreign land, they really have a lot of work.
If you are also a foreigner in another country that will open a bank account for the first time, you should consider several important considerations so that the whole process is simpler and you are not surprised by any problems that may arise unexpectedly.
Below are some of them:
- Conduct research in all local banks. Before you finally open an account, you must read or investigate all the banks that operate in this foreign country. Choose one that has several branches, has electronic banking services or functions, and has less or less expensive fees for any banking activity you do.
- Be prepared for all the documentation you need to send and complete. In addition to the Malaysia bank account for application, there will be other forms that you will be asked to fill out and sign. In addition to your passport and legal entry or immigration visa, you may also be required to present a birth certificate and even the latest bank statements issued in your country of origin.
- Before signing, read all forms and bank agreements that have been delivered to you. Don’t just scan these forms; read them line by line, and if you do not fully understand the condition, ask a bank employee to help you explain it. The last thing you want to do is pay for additional expenses or services that you never knew about when you opened your account. Avoid such sad situations by reading all the forms and agreements that were provided to you before signing them.
- Finally, if you are accustomed to using the overdraft facilities of your previous bank, you will have to learn how to stop doing this. Few banks in foreign countries have base current accounts with automatic overdraft. And even if they do, they are usually small. In addition, if you plan to open and maintain a current account, you should discard any ideas about unauthorized overdraft. Most foreign banks are not amused when a check arrives, and there are not enough funds to cover it. And in some countries, issuing a check is legally similar to a cash offer, and therefore writing a check with insufficient funds to cover it is considered a criminal offense.
