Freelancers: How Do You Receive Payments From Clients In Eu?

[Girino]

in my EU home country, most banks don't accept non-residents of Italy as clients, meaning that once I report I am living abroad, they will terminate my account (losing also my debit and credit cards).
But I would need a bank account in Europe to receive payments from my European clients (PayPal fees are exhorbitant!), so I am looking for alternatives. What EU countries do open accounts for foreigners not resident there?

 

[johnw100]

I just googled a couple in the UK and they both have accounts for non-residents, barclays came up first, looks like you pay about $10 a month but need a minimum of $5000.
https://wealth.barclays.com/en_gb/home/international-banking/who-we-help/resident-non-doms/non-resident-bank-account.html
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2266425/Five-best-offshore-current-accounts.html

 

[Girino]

Yeah but they need a UK address, which I don't have, and usually those rentable addresses are not considered residential addresses, thus a valid address

 

[johnw100]

Not if you get an offshore account

 

[glasgowjohn]

Serafina . Do you have to say anything to your bank?
I have lived outside the UK for more than 25 years and the bank sends my mail to my sisters home.
No family who can help you eith an address?

 

[Ceviche]

Serafina,

Look up banks in Estonia and Georgia. They are very friendly to foreigners

 

[wineguy999]

That account at Barclays is not so easy to open. True, it must be opened with at least GBP5000, and the fee is 10 Pounds monthly, but you need to show that your are in UK regularly and are spending a significant amount of time there. It took us two hours and two references to open our account, and they even checked the stamps in my passport.

 

[scotttswan]

you could become Estonian.

https://e-estonia.com/e-residents/about/

 

[semigoodlookin]

I am not saying this is a definitive answer because things are different with banks and countries. However, I keep my UK bank account with a family member, with the bank basically thinking that is my address. I am in the same situation where I will have my account closed if I lived abroad. I have been doing it this way for four years, when I need a new card I have the family member send it (I was actually in the UK to collect the last one). Hopefully you just have a family memeber who can be of help, and maybe you could even try opening a number of bank accounts to cover yourself.

As for freelancing through PayPal/bank, I am a writer and I would love to be able to get some of my clients to pay to my bank. PayPal rips me off, but my main client is clinging to it for some reason instead of paying me to my bank. Oh well.

 

[Girino]

Aren't you liable for taxes, this way? My banks all ask several questions once per year, such as where I reside, where is my money earned, what is the nature of my job, if I am a U.S. Person, etc. it is starting to bother me! I don't know abroad, but in Italy you should report when you are residing abroad and this info is forwarded to all public services (health care system, DMV, civil registry, revenue service,...). There are more cons than pros, the main cons for me being the bank account. Fortunately, there is no fine for those not complying, but you are still liable for taxes since you are still a resident. If I start answering honestly to those questions, 99% they will terminate my account. If I don't, I might get in trouble in case of a fiscal audit. It is really a catch 22.