The Expat Files

Banks and Bank Accounts - Part 1: - Why opening a simple passbook account can be as simple as brain surgery. - Traveling to LA any time soon? Leave your kids at home...PLEASE! - Changing money without getting gouged. - Counterfeits, counterfeits everywhere. How can you tell the real thing? - Those ‘know your customer’ banking laws have just landed down here, courtesy of a tsunami of narco money and thieving politicians. The result?... a blizzard of paperwork (just like in the 1st world). - Having a lawyer open a bank account for you... good idea or not? - Transferring money using your lawyer’s escrow account a good idea or not? - Why you absolutely need a debit card from a local bank, and how to get one in a hurry.