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joe_d_boss
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USD Savings and Interest

Postby joe_d_boss » August 17th, 2019, 8:26 am

Hey Tuners, can anyone suggest which financial institution to save/invest US dollars for the best interest? I believe most normal USD savings accounts give you something like 0.005% interest on your monthly balance. Simply not enough.

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Rockram
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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby Rockram » August 17th, 2019, 8:54 am

Saving and investing are two different things, but since you referenced savings accounts interest rates, i might suggest a mutual fund to park you USD funds, slightly better rates for eg UTC has 1.14% Annualized at relatively low risks.

joe_d_boss wrote:Hey Tuners, can anyone suggest which financial institution to save/invest US dollars for the best interest? I believe most normal USD savings accounts give you something like 0.005% interest on your monthly balance. Simply not enough.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby vaiostation » August 17th, 2019, 10:14 am

Heard some horror stories on the local radio of countless people who invested their US currency into the bank, and when the time came to get back their US dollars, that bank said that they could only pay them in TT dollars...

Some people had to take the bank to court to get back their US currency.
If you going to open an account with these local banks, just remember ask a lot of questions, and read your contract throughly...

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby zoom rader » August 17th, 2019, 10:35 am

vaiostation wrote:Heard some horror stories on the local radio of countless people who invested their US currency into the bank, and when the time came to get back their US dollars, that bank said that they could only pay them in TT dollars...

Some people had to take the bank to court to get back their US currency.
If you going to open an account with these local banks, just remember ask a lot of questions, and read your contract throughly...
Yup that is true.

I had a US local Credit card and wanted to pay it off in US the clowns told me i need to change the US at their bank and then pay the account in TT as the going rate of US. After heated arguments with the clowns, i left.
I sold the US on the black market, paid off the credit card and closed off my off all my accounts with that bank.

I wrote a letter of disgust to the CEO and manger of that branch.

Have not received a reply since.

Dont open a US account

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby jhonnieblue » August 17th, 2019, 11:04 am

Agreed opening a US account here is a complete waste. To much risk with accessing the same US that you deposited

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby adnj » August 17th, 2019, 1:26 pm

You can open an account at a US institution as a non-resident so long as you do it in person.

There are some risks and problems such as non-resident tax filing, depositor's insurance, etc.

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SR
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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby SR » August 17th, 2019, 2:56 pm

That was easier to do years ago now all us banks very carefull with non nationals opening accounts..... irs and fatca laws have to be met and non nationals will have to submit annual returns to the irs

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby 88sins » August 17th, 2019, 2:59 pm

zoom rader wrote:
I had a US local Credit card and wanted to pay it off in US the clowns told me i need to change the US at their bank and then pay the account in TT as the going rate of US. After heated arguments with the clowns, i left.
I sold the US on the black market, paid off the credit card and closed off my off all my accounts with that bank.

I wrote a letter of disgust to the CEO and manger of that branch.

Have not received a reply since.

Dont open a US account

yup
the local banking cartels love the idea of screwing over the customer any way they think they can.
So, say you paying USD$100 on a cc, and you have the cash to do so. Their policy is you can't just apply that $100 to your account. You have to sell it to them at 6.10:1, and then buy it back from them at 6.7993 to apply it to the account. so you the customer start the transaction by making a substantial loss, and they making a profit off your loss, for doing literally nothing.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby bluefete » August 17th, 2019, 3:27 pm

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, OPEN A US$ ACCOUNT WITH ANY BANK IN T&T, THAT INCLUDES UNIT TRUST.

YOU WILL KETCH YOUR AUNT, UNCLE AND NENEN TO GET BACK YOUR MONEY IN US$, IF YOU CAN GET IT BACK AT ALL.


Make sure you read and understand what everyone else posted.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby hydroep » August 17th, 2019, 3:38 pm

Neophyte politicians/MPs are sometimes absent during the first one or two sessions of the new Parliament. The reason given by the clerk of the house is usually: "They are out of the country".

There's speculation that they go abroad to set up US$ account(s) so they may bank their "remunerations" while in office.

If that's true, do like them. They are our leaders, they know best...:|

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby hydroep » August 17th, 2019, 3:50 pm

zoom rader wrote:
vaiostation wrote:Heard some horror stories on the local radio of countless people who invested their US currency into the bank, and when the time came to get back their US dollars, that bank said that they could only pay them in TT dollars...

Some people had to take the bank to court to get back their US currency.
If you going to open an account with these local banks, just remember ask a lot of questions, and read your contract throughly...
Yup that is true.

I had a US local Credit card and wanted to pay it off in US the clowns told me i need to change the US at their bank and then pay the account in TT as the going rate of US. After heated arguments with the clowns, i left.
I sold the US on the black market, paid off the credit card and closed off my off all my accounts with that bank.

I wrote a letter of disgust to the CEO and manger of that branch.

Have not received a reply since.

Dont open a US account


Banks and insurance companies the world over execute what is tantamount to legal thievery aided and abetted by the State. In T&T they have taken that shyte to whole nother level...:|

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby Ragnor » August 17th, 2019, 4:21 pm

If you are looking to invest USD, the better option would be a bond ETF or a weighted portfolio that has a strong composition in fixed instruments.

The reasoning for not investing in equity is due to rise in global risk and market valuations. A good example of this is the most recent development of an inverse yield curve.

Additionally, bond prices would have risen within Q2 as fed reduce IR in-light of heightened global risk and political pressure.

Savings I would go with a term deposits offering rates higher than USD inflation and transaction costs. "

Locally there are some good portfolio managers who can assist you but if you insist in parking you money DO NOT CHOOSE A USD MUTUAL FUND.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby Rockram » August 17th, 2019, 6:25 pm

From my personal experience with UTC, i never had any problems accessing my funds, getting CASH locally i guess might be a challenge, but i have withdrawn cash at foreign ATMs no problems, i also recently withdrew some funds to invest in the MPC ipo and they issued me a CITIBANK check.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby thelem-again » August 19th, 2019, 1:53 pm

Rockram wrote:From my personal experience with UTC, i never had any problems accessing my funds, getting CASH locally i guess might be a challenge, but i have withdrawn cash at foreign ATMs no problems, i also recently withdrew some funds to invest in the MPC ipo and they issued me a CITIBANK check.


lol lol. You are probably withdrawing low amounts. Try $1,000 US a day internationally and see what happens.

I had a US Account with a local bank to do transactions and caught hell.

Couldn't do wire transfers in excess of $200 US a day and the transactions themselves took like 3-5 days to process. So trying to wire $800 US would usually take like a month. So I closed it.

A few banks away allow non-residents to open a US Account still, but like someone said, you have to go in person. I think Chase and Bank of America does it. No one else due to tax and even after 9/11. There is a cost to maintain the account and I am not sure how it would integrate with our banks, if at all. (In terms of transferring etc.)

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby snatman » August 19th, 2019, 2:24 pm

Well so far I haven't had issues transferring U.S. from my bank account to E-trade... so there's that.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby regone » August 19th, 2019, 2:43 pm

So far no issues accessing my USD. As we all know cash in trini is an issue i normally take a week or 2 for $2000 depending the time of the month, thats why i hold some cash for safety. The rest is in my account/mutual funds which i get no issues with getting drafts or wire transfers. im guessing the bank you with may not be the right one for you or they are not putting you first when comes to USD.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby INDAVID WORKSHOP » August 19th, 2019, 3:38 pm

Guys, Enough said I had US$7,000 accumulated asked the bank for it for my travel, was told I can get about US$1,000 over a two week period.

Gave up asking wire transferred all to a family member and got it there on arrival.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby Rockram » August 19th, 2019, 7:25 pm

thelem-again wrote:
Rockram wrote:From my personal experience with UTC, i never had any problems accessing my funds, getting CASH locally i guess might be a challenge, but i have withdrawn cash at foreign ATMs no problems, i also recently withdrew some funds to invest in the MPC ipo and they issued me a CITIBANK check.


lol lol. You are probably withdrawing low amounts. Try $1,000 US a day internationally and see what happens.

I had a US Account with a local bank to do transactions and caught hell.

Couldn't do wire transfers in excess of $200 US a day and the transactions themselves took like 3-5 days to process. So trying to wire $800 US would usually take like a month. So I closed it.

A few banks away allow non-residents to open a US Account still, but like someone said, you have to go in person. I think Chase and Bank of America does it. No one else due to tax and even after 9/11. There is a cost to maintain the account and I am not sure how it would integrate with our banks, if at all. (In terms of transferring etc.)


LOL.. Actually the daily limit is 1000 usd....also so there is no confusion I have a US$ account not a ttd account trying to withdraw usd, which I believe your referencing.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby francis1979 » August 19th, 2019, 9:08 pm

joe_d_boss wrote:Hey Tuners, can anyone suggest which financial institution to save/invest US dollars for the best interest? I believe most normal USD savings accounts give you something like 0.005% interest on your monthly balance. Simply not enough.


Fixed deposit with interest rates starting at 3%
https://www.dflbusiness.com


I have used unit trust and republic bank.
Never had problem obtaining money back via check.
Advantage of unit trust is that checks are issued for free vs. bank where you need to pay

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby xtech » August 20th, 2019, 8:09 am

INDAVID WORKSHOP wrote:Guys, Enough said I had US$7,000 accumulated asked the bank for it for my travel, was told I can get about US$1,000 over a two week period.

Gave up asking wire transferred all to a family member and got it there on arrival.



Your family member will have to explain to IRS how they come into so much money. You should have flown up open an account and wired to yourself.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby regone » August 20th, 2019, 8:46 am

francis1979 wrote:
joe_d_boss wrote:Hey Tuners, can anyone suggest which financial institution to save/invest US dollars for the best interest? I believe most normal USD savings accounts give you something like 0.005% interest on your monthly balance. Simply not enough.


Fixed deposit with interest rates starting at 3%
https://www.dflbusiness.com


I have used unit trust and republic bank.
Never had problem obtaining money back via check.
Advantage of unit trust is that checks are issued for free vs. bank where you need to pay


Currently im looking for more info on this company (DFL), so far research have shown negative reviews on how they do business (youtube videos etc. ). The USD money market fund interest rate offered by 2 banks currently have been climbing and is forecast to hit between 2-2.25% by year end.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby adnj » August 20th, 2019, 8:54 am

xtech wrote:
INDAVID WORKSHOP wrote:Guys, Enough said I had US$7,000 accumulated asked the bank for it for my travel, was told I can get about US$1,000 over a two week period.

Gave up asking wire transferred all to a family member and got it there on arrival.



Your family member will have to explain to IRS how they come into so much money. You should have flown up open an account and wired to yourself.
Although the amount transferred may be reported the the US IRS, it may not necessarily require detailing on that person's individual tax return.

You can also transfer from your bank account using a service such as Western Union where you specify the recipient's name (yours) and date of cash pickup.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby INDAVID WORKSHOP » August 20th, 2019, 11:47 am

Guys,

Understood my reason was funds returned for loan given.

No question asked, family member had no issue.

Regards

adnj wrote:
xtech wrote:
INDAVID WORKSHOP wrote:Guys, Enough said I had US$7,000 accumulated asked the bank for it for my travel, was told I can get about US$1,000 over a two week period.

Gave up asking wire transferred all to a family member and got it there on arrival.



Your family member will have to explain to IRS how they come into so much money. You should have flown up open an account and wired to yourself.
Although the amount transferred may be reported the the US IRS, it may not necessarily require detailing on that person's individual tax return.

You can also transfer from your bank account using a service such as Western Union where you specify the recipient's name (yours) and date of cash pickup.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby xtech » August 20th, 2019, 6:14 pm

And he just re-loaned you all the cash?


INDAVID WORKSHOP wrote:Guys,

Understood my reason was funds returned for loan given.

No question asked, family member had no issue.

Regards

adnj wrote:
xtech wrote:
INDAVID WORKSHOP wrote:Guys, Enough said I had US$7,000 accumulated asked the bank for it for my travel, was told I can get about US$1,000 over a two week period.

Gave up asking wire transferred all to a family member and got it there on arrival.



Your family member will have to explain to IRS how they come into so much money. You should have flown up open an account and wired to yourself.
Although the amount transferred may be reported the the US IRS, it may not necessarily require detailing on that person's individual tax return.

You can also transfer from your bank account using a service such as Western Union where you specify the recipient's name (yours) and date of cash pickup.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby joe_d_boss » August 21st, 2019, 8:46 am

Thanks for all the replies. It is a little too late now since I already opened a USD account with FCB to deposit a few US cheques that I got as payment. I thought it would be a good idea to save some USD. The bank agreed that I can withdraw my funds and send it to another institution via a manager's cheque that they issue. This is to ensure that the money goes only to another financial institution. I have accumulated a small amount of USD, and my goal is to transfer it to somewhere else where I can just get some interest on it. Mutual funds is what I have been looking at. I want to take my time and make the right decision.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby INDAVID WORKSHOP » August 21st, 2019, 9:34 am

Bro, note the last time I tried to get a manager check for my$US the check takes about 45 working days to clear, and this was from my bank to another financial institution right here in T&T.

joe_d_boss wrote:Thanks for all the replies. It is a little too late now since I already opened a USD account with FCB to deposit a few US cheques that I got as payment. I thought it would be a good idea to save some USD. The bank agreed that I can withdraw my funds and send it to another institution via a manager's cheque that they issue. This is to ensure that the money goes only to another financial institution. I have accumulated a small amount of USD, and my goal is to transfer it to somewhere else where I can just get some interest on it. Mutual funds is what I have been looking at. I want to take my time and make the right decision.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby regone » August 21st, 2019, 10:33 am

INDAVID WORKSHOP wrote:Bro, note the last time I tried to get a manager check for my$US the check takes about 45 working days to clear, and this was from my bank to another financial institution right here in T&T.

joe_d_boss wrote:Thanks for all the replies. It is a little too late now since I already opened a USD account with FCB to deposit a few US cheques that I got as payment. I thought it would be a good idea to save some USD. The bank agreed that I can withdraw my funds and send it to another institution via a manager's cheque that they issue. This is to ensure that the money goes only to another financial institution. I have accumulated a small amount of USD, and my goal is to transfer it to somewhere else where I can just get some interest on it. Mutual funds is what I have been looking at. I want to take my time and make the right decision.


Never had this issue so far (knock on wood) i moved some funds from a bank account to a mutual fund via bank draft (different banks) and the funds were cleared same day i found this to be royally good

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby joe_d_boss » August 27th, 2019, 6:52 am

INDAVID WORKSHOP wrote:Bro, note the last time I tried to get a manager check for my$US the check takes about 45 working days to clear, and this was from my bank to another financial institution right here in T&T.


Yeah I know it takes some time to clear. I have no problem with that since I don't plan to use the money anytime soon. I think it's about 20 working days, depending on which bank or financial institution.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby trinigamer » August 27th, 2019, 8:56 am

joe_d_boss wrote:
INDAVID WORKSHOP wrote:Bro, note the last time I tried to get a manager check for my$US the check takes about 45 working days to clear, and this was from my bank to another financial institution right here in T&T.


Yeah I know it takes some time to clear. I have no problem with that since I don't plan to use the money anytime soon. I think it's about 20 working days, depending on which bank or financial institution.


UTC takes to 21 working days to clear a US$ draft from a local bank, works out to about six weeks.

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Re: USD Savings and Interest

Postby Chimera » August 27th, 2019, 9:45 am

thelem-again wrote:
Rockram wrote:From my personal experience with UTC, i never had any problems accessing my funds, getting CASH locally i guess might be a challenge, but i have withdrawn cash at foreign ATMs no problems, i also recently withdrew some funds to invest in the MPC ipo and they issued me a CITIBANK check.


lol lol. You are probably withdrawing low amounts. Try $1,000 US a day internationally and see what happens.

I had a US Account with a local bank to do transactions and caught hell.

Couldn't do wire transfers in excess of $200 US a day and the transactions themselves took like 3-5 days to process. So trying to wire $800 US would usually take like a month. So I closed it.

A few banks away allow non-residents to open a US Account still, but like someone said, you have to go in person. I think Chase and Bank of America does it. No one else due to tax and even after 9/11. There is a cost to maintain the account and I am not sure how it would integrate with our banks, if at all. (In terms of transferring etc.)



wells fargo allows you to easily open accounts using your passport/visa as ID (in person)

opening an account in about 15 minutes. they grant you a temporary visa debit card immediately and mail you the permanent one two weeks later. you can let them mail it to you in trinidad or any address in the US

doing wire transfers in 5-10 minutes with no issues as well (in person)

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