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I am going overseas for extended period of time. Gonna have overseas residential address, mailing address and non Australian phone number. But I want my life savings to be in Australia with access to them from other countries.

My current Australian bank does not send SMS to non Australian phone numbers and does not send cards outside of Australia.

Is there a bank or bank-like financial product, that supports such scenario? Ideally it should allow to prove my identity in different countries if need arises. I heard about Wise for example, will it help?

Besides being able to control my money remotely I am also worried that if my bank account in Australia gets frozen for some reason I will have to travel half the world to resolve the issue.

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  • Many banks. I use ANZ (the NZ one) and they have never complained about me living in Europe. They will send mail to Europe even though I say they don't have to because it is online.
    – user20574
    Commented Mar 22, 2023 at 19:50
  • @user253751 they told me in the branch that they do not send anything out of Australia. Do you have Australian phone number?
    – eugenekr
    Commented Mar 22, 2023 at 21:37
  • no, New Zealand
    – user20574
    Commented Mar 22, 2023 at 21:37
  • so my experience with banks (in general and not your specific bank) is that this fine unless there's some specific regulation saying it isn't, and it might be just an oddity with your particular bank, so you could ask other banks.
    – user20574
    Commented Mar 22, 2023 at 21:38
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    Nope, but I know many banks do. I suggest that if you can't use SMS, you choose a different option, such as a security device. By the way you are unlikely to need your Australian card while living overseas long-term as you will also have a card from your local bank.
    – user20574
    Commented Mar 22, 2023 at 21:49

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I lived in 3 different continents and I never had a problem with SMS being needed. There are email verifications, fingerprint logins or separate devices available.

For example, HSBC offer a device they call online security device. Barclays offers pinsentry in the UK (not sure about Australia) that I use frequently abroad without any problem.

Also, if you are from Australia, I am not sure why you would think your bank account should get frozen? Expats sites even encourage residents to keep their bank accounts when moving abroad.

The main issue will be costs in my opinion. Ultimately, even SMS will work everywhere you go, as long as you keep your phone.

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    Because they did it to me once and they can do it out of the blue for example if their security department think that account was compromised.
    – eugenekr
    Commented Mar 22, 2023 at 12:18

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