International banking is getting harder and harder each day

High net worth individuals that have made tons of hard-earned money, and investors seeking to protect their assets and do business freely are having a tough time. Options are particularly limited for medium-sized investors.

Let’s name just one example. In Singapore, unless you have a six-digit asset worth, it’s hard to get private banking services.

You’re pretty much left off with shady jurisdictions most people want to avoid.

But there are still incredible legit options for you out there. And we bring you one today: Puerto Rico.

This beautiful country, also known as la Isla del Encanto (the island of enchantment), is best known for its otherworldly beaches, its baseball players, and its musical legends, such as Hector Lavoe.

However, there’s also a good reason why Puerto Rico is also well-known: its banking system.

It’s a popular destination for US citizens who want to lower their taxation. As you may know, Puerto Rico is a US Commonwealth. That means it is a semi-autonomous territory with self-government.

In the US, the top federal income tax rate is almost of 39.6 %. Also, US states charge an additional income tax. Some of them, such as Texas, don’t, but others such as sunny and socialist California can charge as much as 13.3 %.

In Puerto Rico, due to a wide array of tax incentives, you can lower your income tax rate down to a meager 4 %. And guess what? Puerto Rico is a non-CRS jurisdiction, meaning banks don’t automatically report the income you may deposit in Puerto Rican accounts.

However, that would generally be a benefit if you live in the US. If that’s not the case, Puerto Rico still has something to offer you aside from reggaeton, baseball, and breathtaking beaches.

It’s one of the best jurisdictions in the whole world and non-residents are welcome to partake in it.

Puerto Rican banks are regulated by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico. Its goal is to ensure that the financial sector and all the economy are stable by safekeeping a stringent regulatory system that ensures investors their money will be kept safe on the enchantment island.

The island has been in a crisis for much of the 21st Century. The economy has been shrinking, and the debt has been rising, while the public pension system is entirely broken. Unemployment is almost 9 %, which is more than double the national average, and the poverty rate is more than twice the poorest state in the US. And Hurricane Maria destroyed large parts of the island and its economy in 2018.

You may ask yourself, why would I put my money in a country like that?

Because the government has taken some steps towards serious reforms. A restructuring plan stopped debt payment for a while, the island is seeing significant FDI due to its favorable tax regime, and the government hasn’t touched the banking business as it understands it greatly relies on it as a backbone of the economy.

Likewise, the minimum initial deposits are generally low (around $500), and banks offer a wide array of financial services.

Puerto Rico is a fantastic place if you want to keep your money safe in a legit jurisdiction in the West.

Let’s walk you through the main benefits of opening a personal or corporate bank account in Puerto Rico.

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Why Puerto Rico? Six reasons why you should open a bank account in la "isla del Encanto"

Friendly tax regime

Puerto Rico has no dividends tax or capital gains tax. The corporate tax rate is territorial for foreign companies engaging in business in Puerto Rico. It can be lowered from a hefty 33 % to just 4 % thanks to a plethora of tax incentives.

Perfect location

Puerto Rico is in the Caribbean but is part of the US. That means it’s the perfect middle-way between the US and Latin America and can be your path towards establishing your business in the US. Plus, it is, overall, a gorgeous country with some of the best beaches in the Caribbean and a welcoming population.

Full privacy

Puerto Rico isn’t part of the CRS/AEOI, which are reporting international standards that require member countries to exchange tax information between them.

That means Puerto Rico is the perfect place for investors and high net worth individuals that want to protect their assets with total privacy and offers plenty of tax optimization opportunities for companies that establish operations in Puerto Rico.

Varied products and services

Puerto Rican banks offer most financial services you may find in top-level jurisdictions. You have your regular multicurrency account service, but they also provide trading and investment services, such as FOREX-friendly accounts.

Backed up by precious metals

Through our partners, we can offer you a Puerto Rican bank account fully backed by physical gold or silver. The precious metals are guaranteed and guarded by the Australian government, which gives you a perfect balance between the security of precious metals and the easiness and access of a private bank account.

Low minimum deposit and account balance

Most banks require a minimum deposit of around $500, which is way lesser than most top-level jurisdictions. Likewise, the minimum balance is also usually low. That’s a wonderful benefit as most jurisdictions that allow you to remotely open a bank account generally have hefty minimum deposit and balance requirements. 

Who are we and what can we do for you?

In Mundo, we are committed to helping you protect your assets. Our experts have 25 years of providing a wide array of services such as second passports for high net worth individuals, remote banking services, and tax and corporate consultancy.

In this time, we’ve built a valuable network of experts and partners across the globe to offer only the best for our clients. That’s why we offer our services in dozens of jurisdictions that provide the top residence, citizenship, tax, banking, and corporate advantages for our clients.

We believe in freedom, and that’s why we want the best for you: Freedom to live wherever you want, freedom to do business, freedom to keep your money safe, and freedom to invest.

As Puerto Rico is one of the best banking jurisdictions you’ve ever heard of, we offer you the possibility of opening a personal or corporate bank account remotely. You read that right.

This is especially beneficial for certain nationalities that are considered high-risk nationalities to apply for a visa because many of their nationals enter illegally in the US or ask for political asylum when they get there. Thus, opening a bank account in Puerto Rico is the best way to open a bank account within a US territory without needing to be physically present.

And our associated banks give you top-notch security with cutting-edge technology and stringent verification processes. Your money is safe in their hands.

Likewise, they offer modern financial services with FOREX-friendly accounts that are backed up by precious metals.

How does this system work?

One of our allied banks offers you accounts that are backed up by physical gold and/or silver, which are safeguarded by the Australian government.

Thus, you’ll get the best of both worlds: the safety of precious metals and the dynamism and convenience of a regular bank account. This account will allow you to protect your assets from the collapse of regular currencies and political risks without the need to take your metals around the world.

Likewise, the accounts are multi-currency. As of today, they support the following currencies:

• US Dollar

• Canadian Dollar

• Australian Dollar

• Hong Kong Dollar

• Singapore Dollar

• New Zealand Dollar

• Euro

• British Pound

• Japanese Yen

• Norwegian Krone

• Swedish Krone

• Polish Zloty

• Swiss Franc

Your money is fully backed up by the physical gold and silver of the Australian Perth Mint. The sole shareholder of Perth Mint is the Australian Government and has a risk qualification of AAA. It is the only metals storage program on the whole planet that has a government guarantee. That means your metals are kept safe and private, yet the bank offers you worldwide access to them with competitive gold and silver prices, low fees, and lets you buy and sell online 24/7.

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Personal account

Now, what’s the process to open a multi-currency personal account?

Our competitive edge is that we work with a pre-approval system. That means we submit your documents and profile for a previous check to our partner banks so they can say if they are interested in having you as a client. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will accept you, but it certainly increases your chances exponentially. 

To conduct the pre-approval process, we’ll need the following documents:

• Bank form, filled and signed

• Notarized passport copy

• Certified copy of proof of residence

• Banking reference and/or six-month bank statements

Likewise, the bank will likely contact you via email to schedule a short phone call.

If everything goes right, we’ll submit your documents to the bank and wait for a response. The bank may ask for some additional documents, too. A couple of other things you must consider is that you should make a minimum deposit of $500 and keep a minimum balance of $60.

The whole process after we submit your documents and forms takes at least 20 days.

Corporate account

Now, we can talk about the corporate account. Our partner bank offers an array of services, as the account can be a mutual fund account, a brokerage account, a multi-currency account, and the precious metals account we talked about before.

The process is simple:

1. You give us the required documents

2. You complete the bank forms and send a signed copy of them

3. You have a five-minute phone call with a bank representative to complete the pre-approval

4. If everything goes fine, we’ll send the documents to the bank and wait for a response

What documents do we need from you?

1. Notarized copy of ID or passport of every beneficiary, director, signatory, and officer.

2. Notarized copy of proof of residence of all beneficiaries and signatories of no more than three months old

3. Notarized copy of the incorporation certificate

4. Notarized copy of the good standing certificate

5. Notarized copy of the articles of association and memorandums

6. Notarized copy of the registry of shareholders and directors

7. Notarized copy of the declaration of trust or notarized agreement of nominal shareholder

8. If the company already has a banking history, it must submit a banking reference. If not, a banking reference of the final beneficiary must be provided.

9. If the company has a different commercial address than its registered address, it must send:

• Certificate of the commercial address

• Extract of the registry of the corporation, or service invoice, or renting contract, or a document of similar nature

10. Board decision that includes the details of the authorized individual(s) and the decision regarding opening a bank account

11. Brief business plan

12. Contracts, agreement with partners, invoices, presentations (if the first deposit is transferred from a partner’s account.

After the documents and forms are sent, the decision will be communicated in at least 20 days. The minimum deposit of the account is $500, and the minimum balance is $360.

In Mundo, we consider that Puerto Rico is one of the most underrated banking jurisdictions on the planet. The island of enchantment is open to foreigners and is finally seeing a brighter future after a couple of tough decades. As a non-CRS jurisdiction with state-of-the-art financial services, it should be on the list of every investor.

What are you waiting for? Want to know more about our banking services in Puerto Rico?

Enquire now!