That's because of FACTA. I know some banks over here (France/Western Europe) outright refuse US clients because they don't want to deal with that stuff.
As a US citizen who lived in the Netherlands until recently, at least one bank (ABN AMRO) is fine with US customers, and is also attractive to expats in other ways- for instance, they will do more of their correspondence in English than other banks. It required maybe 20 minutes in an office at my local branch when I opened my account for them to have dealt with everything, and then my banking experience was no different from anyone else's.
The problem in the Netherlands isn't so much expats who grew up in the US, but "accidental Americans" who were born in the US and left as small children. They are US citizens, but don't have an SSN, which Dutch banks require to comply with US law (and with pandemic-related embassy closures, obtaining one isn't necessarily easy).
It depends on the bank. Essentially it boils down to whether the "foreign" bank is willing to go through the compliance and data-sharing that is impressed upon them by working with Americans. Some do, many understandably can't be bothered.
Many foreign banks will take American customers even if many others won’t - both policies are common in Germany for example, and in Canada accepting Americans is routine. Plus, even most foreign banks that won’t accept American customers still routinely transfer money to and from the US, just as most US banks routinely transfer money to and from other countries. Nothing like capital controls.
I'm not in PH but in the region, and know a few recent Russian émigrés here. They've eventually been able to open an account after trying a few banks. The banks are concerned about unknowingly dealing with a sanctioned person or business, and consequently having trouble with their access to EU and US banking systems. Banks in PH in particular often do a lot of US business, you may consider looking for a bank that does not (e.g., banks dealing more with China).
Its actually the vast majority of foreign banks, except those with a strong US presence (and even then not always. E.g. Deutsche bank won't take US clients in Germany [0]).
> Most Foreign Banks Don't Want U.S. Clients; How To Find One That Does [1]
> U.S. ambassador to Switzerland is asking banks in the country to reverse course and accept Americans as clients.
[2]
> I live in a country with many American expats, none of them have had any problem whatsoever to access to banking services, including opening accounts
It depends on the bank. Any bank doing business internationally is usually fine because they probably already have a robust compliance mechanism in place, but a lot of local banks will just straight-up say no because they don't want to be subjected to FBAR / FATCA.
That tends to be the deciding factor. If you live somewhere with many US expats, the banks are usually willing to jump through hoops to get you as a customer.
If you’re a one-off for them they may just say “no”.
It's not that easy. European banks for example, don't accept us customers or you have to deliver extensive documentation. Even in switzerland the u.s. were able to enforce it.
Websites would run into the same situation as banks: anytime you open an account at most banks in Europe and probably around the world, they specifically make sure that you're not American, because then they have to comply with American laws if they don't want to get blacklisted.
Can confirm. US (dual) citizen living in Europe. Increasingly banks here will not take US citizens as customers as it is too annoying for them to deal with.
Getting an account as a US citizen in the EU used to be easier, but the US put in place onerous reporting requirements that made US citizens mostly unwelcome unless you have a lot of money. Very frustrating to have a bank close your accounts because dealing with the US reporting is too much of a hassle.
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