Schwab account for non-US

[backtothebeach]

I’ve been with IBKR for two decades, but looking to diversify. On the Schwab international website, it seems international users have the same benefits as US clients.
 

For example, commission free trading, a debit card with refund of ATM fees and no extra fees when used internationally.

 

Any non-US and/or non-North American Schwab users here? What’s your experience?

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by backtothebeach

[Sweet]

I’m with Schwab international.  
 

I don’t have a debit card, maybe I have to apply for one?  Not sure.  No commissions I can confirm and good customer service.

 

I am also with IBKR, and I much prefer Schwab platform, it’s much less clunky and more intuitive.

 

Only one problem with Schwab, is they don’t allow EU / UK clients to buy ETFs if they don’t have the PRIIPs key investor document, and they have no process to allow yourself to reclassify as a professional client.  That’s a pain in the ass.

 

[Saluki]

I'm a US person but I like having Schwab in addition to my main account for another reason. Schwab doesn't have many offices so to entice people to join, as you mentioned, they refund ATM fees when you use someone else's ATMs.  When I travel internationally my regular bank doesn't have branches abroad and sometimes the ATM fees in other countries are shocking if you only need to take out a small amount of walking around money.   I used Schwab a lot for that and have always been reimbursed the foreign ATM fees.  This year I opened a Revolut account and used it with no problem (or fees) when I travelled abroad. 

 

I only trade stocks in Merrill account at my desktop b/c I don't like the app, but Schwab has a decent, easy to use mobile app that works well and is intuitive. 

[backtothebeach]

7 hours ago, Sweet said:

I’m with Schwab international.  
 

I don’t have a debit card, maybe I have to apply for one?  Not sure.  No commissions I can confirm and good customer service.

 

I am also with IBKR, and I much prefer Schwab platform, it’s much less clunky and more intuitive.

 

Only one problem with Schwab, is they don’t allow EU / UK clients to buy ETFs if they don’t have the PRIIPs key investor document, and they have no process to allow yourself to reclassify as a professional client.  That’s a pain in the ass.

 

That’s good to hear that Schwab has the commission free trading also for non-residents. I’m a bit tired of paying IB’s commissions, even though I suspect they may have slightly better execution.

I don’t find IB clunky at all, though, I use it in TWS classic, and it basically looks like a spreadsheet.

[backtothebeach]

4 hours ago, Saluki said:

I'm a US person but I like having Schwab in addition to my main account for another reason. Schwab doesn't have many offices so to entice people to join, as you mentioned, they refund ATM fees when you use someone else's ATMs.  When I travel internationally my regular bank doesn't have branches abroad and sometimes the ATM fees in other countries are shocking if you only need to take out a small amount of walking around money.   I used Schwab a lot for that and have always been reimbursed the foreign ATM fees.  This year I opened a Revolut account and used it with no problem (or fees) when I travelled abroad. 

 

I only trade stocks in Merrill account at my desktop b/c I don't like the app, but Schwab has a decent, easy to use mobile app that works well and is intuitive. 

I have a Wise card, but it is limiting ATM cash withdrawals and does not reimburse the fees. So the Schwab card, if it is available for non-US residents would really be nice as a travel card.

[Spekulatius]

21 hours ago, Saluki said:

I'm a US person but I like having Schwab in addition to my main account for another reason. Schwab doesn't have many offices so to entice people to join, as you mentioned, they refund ATM fees when you use someone else's ATMs.  When I travel internationally my regular bank doesn't have branches abroad and sometimes the ATM fees in other countries are shocking if you only need to take out a small amount of walking around money.   I used Schwab a lot for that and have always been reimbursed the foreign ATM fees.  This year I opened a Revolut account and used it with no problem (or fees) when I travelled abroad. 

 

I only trade stocks in Merrill account at my desktop b/c I don't like the app, but Schwab has a decent, easy to use mobile app that works well and is intuitive. 

Why would a person in the US have a brokerage account with Schwab when Fidelity offers exactly the same thing, but gives you interest on your cash (currently ~3.7% in SPAXX) when Schwab pays you almost nothing (unless they changed this recently).

 

Besides IBKR, Fidelity is about the only mainstream broker that gives you decent interest on cash balances  / MM funds.

[Saluki]

17 hours ago, backtothebeach said:

I have a Wise card, but it is limiting ATM cash withdrawals and does not reimburse the fees. So the Schwab card, if it is available for non-US residents would really be nice as a travel card.

 

Honestly, I'm a dinosaur and I just walked into the Schwab office that was a couple of blocks from my office because I wanted to something that I could access overseas and not pay fees and my better half recommended them.  I didn't try to optimize, but if I had large cash balances (I'm usually fully invested) or did margin trading (they charge less than Merrill, but still very high) I would chosen something different based on my needs. 

 

I like to keep it simple and I didn't want more than one account anyway, but decided to do it 1) for the no-fee international ATM thing, and 2) I'm a chickensh1t, and I was increasingly uncomfortable with just investing with one broker when the SIPC insurance is $500k per account. I vividly remember Lehman and Bear Stearns and I don't want to be a creditor one day asking for a favor. 

[UK]

On 1/12/2023 at 3:43 PM, backtothebeach said:

I’ve been with IBKR for two decades, but looking to diversify. On the Schwab international website, it seems international users have the same benefits as US clients.
 

For example, commission free trading, a debit card with refund of ATM fees and no extra fees when used internationally.

 

Any non-US and/or non-North American Schwab users here? What’s your experience?

 

 

I still use only IB (IE), but from time to time am thinking about this question myself. I do not really worry about this in case of IB too much, but it seems the main benefit with Schwab would also be much higher SIPC insurance vs EU based broker. Is this part of your consideration? However, margin rates (if one would use some leverage) is unthinkably higher with Schwab vs IB?

 

On the separate issue, what is your opinion on this U.S. Estate Tax for Foreign Investors? It is not Schwab related and theoretically should apply for any US investment for non US person and as far as I understand this tax is not practicaly implemented. However with US based broker you would be much closer to IRS, than with EU based? 

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by UK

[RedLion]

On 1/13/2023 at 7:20 AM, Spekulatius said:

Why would a person in the US have a brokerage account with Schwab when Fidelity offers exactly the same thing, but gives you interest on your cash (currently ~3.7% in SPAXX) when Schwab pays you almost nothing (unless they changed this recently).

 

Besides IBKR, Fidelity is about the only mainstream broker that gives you decent interest on cash balances  / MM funds.

 

I use Schwab and my wife uses Fidelity. I like the layout at Schwab a lot more than Fidelity. I also have commission free trades on treasuries at Schwab. So all of my cash is in short term T-bills yielding 4.5%+ at Schwab. They send an email and give a mobile app notification whenever your T-bill is about to mature, so it's not very hard to get on and reinvest the proceeds commission free in a higher yielding risk free alternative. 

[backtothebeach]

12 hours ago, UK said:

...

On the separate issue, what is your opinion on this U.S. Estate Tax for Foreign Investors? It is not Schwab related and theoretically should apply for any US investment for non US person and as far as I understand this tax is not practicaly implemented. However with US based broker you would be much closer to IRS, than with EU based? 

 

 

I haven't looked into it, maybe I should. I am already with IB LLC (the U.S. branch) since I am based in the Americas, so it could be an issue.

[UK]

1 hour ago, backtothebeach said:

 

I haven't looked into it, maybe I should. I am already with IB LLC (the U.S. branch) since I am based in the Americas, so it could be an issue.

 

I am not sure about this tax or is it a real risk at all. I tried to find information on it myself and consulted with local tax specialists from big 4 and their answer is cool "do not worry, this only exist on paper, nobody ever pays it". It is also not broker related. But as it stands today it quite crazy and with very low exemption for non us persons.