Online banking
For many expatriates one of the key concerns when moving to, or moving between countries, is how to best control, manage and protect their money. With the advances in technology providing more flexible online banking, Expat Money spoke with Damian Hitchen, Regional Sales Director from Swissquote Bank, in their DIFC offices to learn more:
Who are Swissquote?
“Swissquote are Switzerland’s largest, and one of the largest online Banks in Europe. We have recently opened in DIFC to serve the expatriate community in the GCC via our unique online and offshore banking and investment platform. We are listed on the Swiss stock exchange with all the safety and comfort associated with Swiss banking.”
What makes Swissquote different?
“We are a purely online bank, with a passion for providing market-leading services, all at the click of a mouse. Being an online bank means that we do not carry the normal costs of most banks meaning we can pass on the savings to our clients via cost-effective solutions. Our ‘Expat Account’ is designed by long-term expatriates, for long-term expatriates; built based on over 20 years of understanding of expatriates banking needs in multiple locations and packaged into 1 user-friendly, accessible anytime – anywhere platform.”
What are the key benefits & features:
“Based on asking expats in the market what is important personally from their bank , combined with significant research on our peers in the online and offshore banking environment, a quick summary of benefits are:
- No minimum balance requirements and No annual account fees;;
- Your savings are held offshore, in your personal Swiss Bank account
o Not subject to any UAE-related Sharia’ laws;
o Clients’ deposits are protected up to a maximum of CHF 100,000 per client (under the Swiss Depositor Protection Scheme);
- Access to a Multi-currency Bank account
o Set up with USD,EUR,CHF as standard; option to add up to 10 currency current accounts, including AED,GBP,AUD,NZD,ZAR,RUB,NOK,CAD,SEK,DKK;
o Competitive Deposit rates on your current account
- Market leading foreign exchange rates – save money on every transfer!!
- Easy to use International and domestic cash transfers;
o No fees on in-bound payments to your accounts;
o Low fees on out-bound payments, starting from as little as EUR2 per bank transfer;
- Trading everywhere – access to Equity, Bonds, Commodities, Indexes, Funds, Structured products etc.;
o Access to over 60 global markets and 1.8 million financial instruments;
o Access to more than 8,000 Mutual Funds & ETFs from global leading Fund managers
o Simple execution via our online platform from USD$10 per Fund;
o Access to a range of personalized savings and investment services:
o ePortfolios – a range of investment strategies tailored to your personal risk-profile for regular saving objectives;
o ePrivate Banking – choose your investment profile tailored to personalized risk and return requirements via our automated asset-management platform.
How do you compare to the market?
“Whilst many local and international banks offer online banking, and some offer offshore banking in places such as the Channel Islands, I would describe Swissquote as a unique combination between an online retail bank, a global trading platform and a Private Bank rolled into one easy-to-use platform – there are very few such platforms globally and none that I know of with our capability in the Middle East.
In addition as an online bank we are extremely competitive against local and international banks when it comes to fees and charges, we offer fantastic foreign currency rates and real value for people looking to save and invest via our open architecture universe of investment products.”
How do people open an Expat account?
“Based on our mantra of keeping things simple and easy, clients can simply visit www.swissquote.ae and click on ‘open an Expat account’. You then take an online application questionnaire which takes no more than 5 minutes and then our multi-lingual team; our team speaks English, Arabic, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Tagalog, will contact you to complete the account opening process and provide a demo of our platform. There are no fees or costs to open an account and typically from start-to-finish this can be completed and you will have online access within 3-5 working days.”
Anything else you would like to add?
“After 15 years in financial services in the Middle East, and speaking as a long-term expat myself, whether you simply want to save cash in a safe offshore location or you are an advance trader of multiple asset-classes, Swissquote’s platform is the best I have seen.
I would invite everyone to take a closer look on www.swissquote.ae, try our Currency calculator tool, review our savings and investment solutions and open an Expat account – there is no cost and this is a simple process. We look forward to welcoming you into the Swissquote community! “
