J.C. Says:
What’s the best way to have our funds directed to a bank account where we plan to live in Belize?
IL Chief Global Diversification Expert Ted Baumann Says:
Hi J.C.,
Transferring money from the U.S. to Belize can be tricky. Not on the Belizean side, but thanks to U.S. banks.
This is because the U.S., for better or worse, lists Belize as a risk for money laundering—making domestic banks wary of dealing with the country.
Thankfully, there’s a handy workaround.
Money transfer services like Remitly, which I use, allow you to transfer money to two foreign bank accounts directly from a U.S. account. Belize is on their list of eligible recipient countries.
So, you can keep your U.S. bank account, have your pension or Social Security deposited there, and then regularly transfer the money to your account in Belize.
That’s far easier than having an automatic deposit to an overseas account anyway.
You might have some questions to answer from Remitly in the process of setting up your account—but once you’ve done that, you should have no problems.
Best of luck with your move to Belize!
If you haven’t already, I’d suggest picking up a copy of Escape to Belize on the IL Bookstore, here.
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