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Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Tue, 09 Mar 2021 2:00 am
by sundaymorningstaple
I worked in Indonesia from Aceh to Irian Jaya and from Timor to the Moluccas over a 12 year span. Never had a problem with the banking system. I worked as a shore based administrator for several years there as well. Never had any unsurmountable problems either.

Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Tue, 09 Mar 2021 8:21 am
by malcontent
They have gotten significantly more strict with the advent of CRS and the amnesty programs.

Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Tue, 09 Mar 2021 9:13 am
by Max Headroom
SMS, can I ask you, is there a way to open a bank account in Indonesia on just a tourist visa? Been struggling getting a definitive answer to this. Even banks have been contradicting themselves.

I'd like to open a bank account in Indo, but I've been stumped so far.

Cheers.

Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Tue, 09 Mar 2021 9:57 am
by malcontent
Most banks require some form of residency in the country or at least a good business reason, (like owning a property there) before they will entertain you. This has also gotten much more strict over the years. When I first came to Singapore in 1996 (only on a SVP), UOB & DBS refused but OCBC was still willing to open an account for me - wouldn’t be possible today, I’m sure.

That said, TransferWise (now called Wise) does allow you to open virtual accounts in many countries - these work just like real accounts with local routing numbers, etc.

Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Tue, 09 Mar 2021 10:08 am
by Max Headroom
Thanks Mal.

Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Tue, 09 Mar 2021 10:09 am
by tiktok
HSBC might do it, I opened accounts in several countries without being resident there.

Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Tue, 09 Mar 2021 11:12 am
by PNGMK
malcontent wrote:
Tue, 09 Mar 2021 9:57 am
Most banks require some form of residency in the country or at least a good business reason, (like owning a property there) before they will entertain you. This has also gotten much more strict over the years. When I first came to Singapore in 1996 (only on a SVP), UOB & DBS refused but OCBC was still willing to open an account for me - wouldn’t be possible today, I’m sure.

That said, TransferWise (now called Wise) does allow you to open virtual accounts in many countries - these work just like real accounts with local routing numbers, etc.
You can do some .... "interesting" stuff with Wise.

Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Tue, 09 Mar 2021 11:40 am
by Max Headroom
Update: I checked them just now, but I doubt it's workable, because to leverage your Indo bank account, i.e. for formalities such as buying local equity, you'll need to name the bank account you want to use. Since Transferwise's account is called "Transferwise", this bank account won't match your name, which means your trading account won't be validated. (Unless you legally change your name to "Transfer Wise" of course.)

Anyhoo, I'd love to be corrected on my assumption.

Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Tue, 09 Mar 2021 5:10 pm
by PNGMK
Max Headroom wrote:
Tue, 09 Mar 2021 11:40 am
Update: I checked them just now, but I doubt it's workable, because to leverage your Indo bank account, i.e. for formalities such as buying local equity, you'll need to name the bank account you want to use. Since Transferwise's account is called "Transferwise", this bank account won't match your name, which means your trading account won't be validated. (Unless you legally change your name to "Transfer Wise" of course.)

Anyhoo, I'd love to be corrected on my assumption.
That's correct. Wise don't have local account facilities yet for IDR. I'd forgotten they don't do every country yet.

Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Sat, 24 Jul 2021 10:09 am
by go-w
Hi, it’s been 3 months. Did you get any updates from the police? I’m in a similar situation now.

Re: Police freeze my bank account

Posted: Sat, 24 Jul 2021 10:46 am
by malcontent
What exactly is your situation?