Can I as an American open up a bank account in Europe and convert all my dollars to Euros ?

Question

I have a few thousand dollars and I don't trust the dollar. I do not want to get old and then all the money I have saved becomes totally worthless.

Answer 1

You are far better off buying currency with a broker or as someone else suggested and exchange traded fund.

In the end it will cost you far less, since you will likely get nickled and dimed in the bank fees and conversions.

A far better way to "hedge" against the dollar is to buy stock in a company that is incorporated in Euro's and will benefit from a strong Euro.

Or, buy a U.S. company that will benefit from a weak dollar.

It's always good to hedge against your currency, but there are many ways to do that, many of which have nothing to do with purchasing another currency.

Answer 2

Uh Sorry, but the American dollar has fallen dramatically against most major currencies, which are at all time highs against the USD. You time to be thinking this should have been right after 9/11.

The USD will always be stong IN the US!!! The time is prime for people running exporting businesses!! People can now afford US Goods. I'm in Canada now, and the USD has fallen so badly against the Canadian Dollar, that I can afford to go there and buy things off of eEBAY and so forth.


If you convert your USD into other currencies NOW, what will happen once the USD starts to recover. YOU will LOSE badly.
on the exchange. You can't use Euros directly in the United States.



Lets say that for just example, back in 2001 you
converted 100,000 USD to Canadian Dollars. Back then you guys
could get 1.6 times the exchange. You would have gotten
about $160,000 Candian, which NOW since the USD has collapsed against the Canadian Dollar, you can convert
$160,000 Canadian into about $155,000 USD.

Now that's a HUGE return on your investment.

Now lets say you did the same thing now. YOU BUY Canadian Dollars OR EUROS OR BRITISH POUNDS when they are at ALL TIME HIGHS.

You can lose a bundle. Investment strategy says to buy low sell high, not the other way around.

It is a bit unrealistic to think that the USD will continue its dramatic slide against major currencies around the world. Its still the most powerful nation on Earth!! Now it may still continue to fall against the Canadian Dollar. With the OIL Sands in Alberta, Canada is likely to become one of the biggest OIL exporters in the world.


BY the way, you should be able to open up a bank account right at your branch to hold foreign currency. Just say you'd like to open a EURO accont, because you think the USD is going to continue its slide into oblivion. They can probably open one up for you in a few minutes. You don't have to open an account in another country!

Answer 3

You could open an european bank account, but an easier way to convert your dollars to euros would be through the euro exchange traded fund- FXE. You buy FXE with dollars from any American brokerage and they buy you euros. Since the euro is right now worth a record high vs. the dollar, the cost is high. But, perhaps if you dollar cost average into FXE, you would meet your goal.

Answer 4

not a smart idea remember the euro was under a dollar a few years ago and that exchange fund I would be very leery of it and stay out of forex all together. Low dollar is good for foriegn markets high dollar is good for american markets.

Answer 5

Now that's a thought, the Euro-Dollar from it's birth was always less than the US Dollar, but it's been down hill from the moment the war broke out in '03. ( the price of freedom, I guess) But don't count on it to stay that way forever, our money will recuperate in time, and the Euro will go back down under ours, where it belongs.

Answer 6

Yes on line!
I have had an account here and they recently included Euros, Pounds & Canadian dollars. All pay interest:

http://www.goldmoney.com/

I have been buying Gold here for 6 years & believe it or not physical Gold has been appreciating at a better annual rate than most stocks.
Good Luck!
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Answer 7

Yes, but you are required to report the account to the IRS at tax time.

Answer 8

Anyone can open a bank account there. But check out these sites first.

http://www.assetprotectioncorp.com/foreignbankaccounts.html

http://taxes.about.com/od/preparingyourtaxes/a/TDF90221.htm

http://forums.kiplinger.com/showthread.php?t=4486

http://www.obfs.uillinois.edu/manual/central_p/sec14-10.html

Answer 9

Yes.

Answer 10

Yes I did it when I was in the miitary