A glossary of terms Offshore, Offshore Banking, and Offshore Incorporation:

Anonymous Bearer Share Corporation

This is a corporate structure wherein the ownership of the corporation can not be found anywhere else. The anonymous owners holds the actual stock and there will be no report regarding the transferring of who owns the actual stock. The country is the only place you can purchase or recieve an anonymous bearer Share Corporation which is known as S.A or Sociedad Anonyma.

Anonymous Foundation

Also called Private Interest Foundation, this type of foundation has its beneficiaries held in secret not being revealed to the public. In such a foundation, sometimes council members being nominees will not know each other. The founder can even instruct the firm to share the true identify of the person who formed the foundation. Also, anonymous foundations can, but don't have to have protectors and also some foundations will have some special instructions that would deal with their assets.

Anonymous Offshore ATM Card

Refers to an ATM card that contains no name print out on the card's surface. With this ATM card, it secures even more your privacy when getting money from the bank or bank machine. This card is different from the normal cards of today that require an ID and often proof of billing as part of the bank's files.

Anonymous Real Estate Ownership

The process of acquiring an anonymous Real Estate ownership is done by adding the anonymous bearer share holder or an anonymous Panama foundation in the title of the real estate.

Apostille

Is a basic verfication by a simple signature. First, one goes to any public notary with documents in hand for signing and notartization.  Then, the document is passed along to what is called Apostille who will than certify that everything is true and correct. In a way, the Apostille is a verification of the notary. An Apsotille certificate usually uses a stamp of signature and seals to authenticate the document.

Asset Protection

Usually, this applies to a person who specializes in protecting all assets and interest of others. This kind of protect works better in a country that has different jurisdiction from your own. Becasue of this issue laws, attorneys, and others from your homeland will not be help up in authority in all offshore transactions.

Bahamas Offshore Banking

This type of banking and transactions where at one time very popular option for offshore investors. 

Bank

A government regulated money company that is legally allowed to accept money deposits and issue loans to third party members.

Bank Secrecy

A policy applied by banks in any transaction with a secure bank and is a protection law.  

Balloon Payment

These kinds of balloon payments are common in home or car loans. A person can take out a loan from a foundation who in turn sets an interest that is payable 60 months. If the person who took the load is unable to repay or pay off the principal at that time, the loan than would be rolled into another agreement.

Bearer Bond

This is a financial instrument that values to a solid bond or the goverment of the bond is purchased in. In the early 1980's, IDs were not required in order for one to negotiate the bearer bond.

Bearer Share Corporation

Refers to a corporation formed from this type of stock certificates. Ownership of a bearer share corporation is deferred to the person who has the actual stock certificates. A Panama Bearer Share Corporation is anonymous, and has no record nor any information regarding the transaction of ownership.

Beneficiary

A person how has the right to recieve money or assets through any legal device. Examples of legal devices include Panama Foundations. In Panama, the beneficiaries of foundations can be stricken off record.

Corporate Agent

Refers to a non-lawyer that can form corporations in certain offshore jurisdictions. Though do not mistake these corporate agents as attonerys, and remember that you should not higher attorney client privileges.

Garnishment

This refers to a court action which orders that a person take property from another as payment for a debt. Offshore orders, however, are not recognized in Panama City.

Grand Cayman Offshore Banking

The term refers to the then very popular offshore banking in the Grand Cayman Islands, also known as the Cayman Islands.

Guillotine Clause

This offshore banking involved keeping a certain amount of money moving from account to account. The offshore banks are given complete details to immediately send the money to another offshore bank account once anyone has interest or concern about the account. Nowadays, banks are not permitting to have those kinds of Guillotine instructions. However, what is called Panama Foundation can execute such decisions by having what is a called a foundation protector create instructions that would be initiated upon fulfillment of certain events and conditions that are written in the Foundation's special information which pertainis to any asset the foundation has.

Heir

Refers to the person who attains the property or assets from a deceased individual. This is a common term when talking about these types of foundations and trusts.

Internet Banking Offshore

Allows clients of banks to gain access and records of their online account online.

Judgment

Refers to the decision of the court after hearing a case. In account such as these, the judgments made from courts of other places are generally not enforceed in any offshore jurisdiction such as in Panama.

Jurisdiction

Refers to the court's authority to fully understand and work cases. It is a common practice that courts mustly do not hear a case involving offshore jurisdictions where the action occurred outside of say the area of the court. Sometimes, these cases will be brought to local area court is due to the fact that it involves a local Corporation and/or involves a local bank account.

MLAT or Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty

This is involving mutual cooperation between member countries in gathering evidence in a crime case study. The treaties themselves, however, are usually full of clauses and exceptions which may vary from each MLAT.

Natural Person

This is referring to a living and breathing person. This is usually used to differentiate it from an unnatural person instead of an actual company, bank, or groups.

Nominee Directors

Refers to the people working as professional directors and sitting on the boards of hundreds of corporations which will confuse anyone investigating a corporation filed in Panama. As nominee director, the owner can replace them at will. That is why, resignation letters are being supplied for each director upon his employment.

Nominee Panama Foundation Council Members

This is group of members who sit on many different types of foundations but have no inkling on who the owner is. Just like nominee directors, the law firm handling the interests of the foundation provides a simple letter stating they could resign for each of the council members so that the owner can completely change the members anytime.

Offshore

Refers to having a business outside of your local area or what your a citizen of.

Offshore ATM Card

A bank card that needs to contain funds before any money is made available for disbursement. ATM cards are not credit cards. These cards cannot be used for online transactions.

Offshore Bank

Refers to a legal bank that holds office outside your own country or jurisdiction.

Offshore Banking

Is a banking transaction involving a bank that is not in your own jurisdiction. For example, Panama would be an offshare banking for citizens of the US. However, this term does not mean the bank has to be in a different country. Say for a german a back account in the UK would be offshore. It is quite interesting to note that regardless how you see it, this teram has absolutely nothing to do with bank security.

Offshore Banking and Bank Account

A bank account opened up in an offshore bank. Not a legal or banking term.

Offshore Bank Account

This is any account that is opened in any other bank (offshore bank).

Offshore Banking Account

A bank account that does transactions in any offshore area other you’re your own.

Offshore Company

Another way of saying offshore corporation. This is formed in a jurisdiction offshore to ones own.

Offshore Company Formation

This is a term used in and for offshore companies instead of using the actual term incorporation.  

Offshore Company Incorporation

The process of forming a corporation varies from area and country. Some country allows only a attorney to file incorporation papers while others allow registered agents too.

Offshore Company Registration

Having an offshore company and registering it in a foreign country or in the same jurisdiction. The process of registration may require to company to provide documents of who owns the company, money records and other legal documents.

Offshore Corporation

A corporation formed in an other or different from your current jurisdiction.

Offshore Credit Card

A credit card issued from a bank that is offshore. The credit card comes with credit line limit and need not be pre-loaded from your own funds. It is not usual for an offshore bank to issue a credit card without securing the line of credit with funds held by the bank.

Offshore Debit Card

A debit card issued by a bank or card issuer whose physical address is located offshore to where you are located. Although, the term can also refer to a card that need to have funds be placed in the bank or placed in the card account before to being available on the card. This can refer to a MasterCard or Visa card as well as an ATM only card.

Offshore Formation

Refers to the creation of a corporation, foundation, or trust in a jurisdiction offshore to where you are located.

Offshore Foundation

It is a foundation formed outside of your own country or jurisdiction.

Offshore Haven

This is a term coined to refer to a jurisdiction aside from your own that has no taxation on offshore derived income such as Panama.

Offshore Incorporation

Refers to the formation of a corporation that is in an offshore jurisdiction. Panama is one of the more popular offshore incorporation jurisdiction. At present there are more than 400,000 corporations registered here.

Offshore Incorporation Services

Refers to a firm that forms offshore corporations. More often than not, the same firm is also capable of forming an offshore trust or offshore foundation. A company that forms a corporation can be a law firm or at times be a group of corporate agents.

Offshore Lawyer

The term describes a lawyer that has its base of business in a popular offshore jurisdiction and whose primary job is to form offshore corporations, offshore trusts, offshore foundations and opening of offshore bank accounts. These lawyers also engage in services to provide asset protections in general.

Offshore Stock Broker

This term usually refers to a stock broker whose location is in an offshore jurisdiction.

Offshore Tax Haven

This describes a country where zero tax incentives are given to offshore companies and where offshore banks exist and offshore corporations can be formed.

Offshore Trust

This refers to a trust that is formed in an offshore jurisdiction. In Panama, trusts can also be formed. However, foundations are preferred over trust since they are better and avoid the stigma associated with a trust.

Online Banking

Internet or online access to your bank account. Online banking allows one to check balances, transfer between accounts and launch international wires from anywhere in the world.

Onshore

It refers to anywhere in your own country or jurisdiction.

Panama Foundation

Also known as Panama Private Interest Foundation. Generally a Panama Foundation can have bank accounts that cannot be sequestered or embargoed. The foundation's bank account or other assets cannot be frozen unless under special circumstances. A Panama Private Interest Foundation is a combination of a will, trust and corporation. The foundation can be used to leave assets for heirs, as a holding company, and to preserve assets for your retirement. It is a general rule that Panama foundations should not directly engage in business activities for profit. However, the foundations can own Panama corporations that do engage in commercial businesses. A Panama Foundation has council members just like the board of directors in a corporation. In Panama, what is used is a nominee council member system wherein the members don't have the knowledge on the ownership of the foundation. There is also an option of using a Panama bearer share corporation called a Sociedad Anonyma in place of the council members. This way, if your ownership to the shares of the corporation is a large one, you will have a large degree of control over the foundation.

Pensionado Visa

A Panama permanent residency visa. This is issued to retired people and usually includes a whole array of benefits.

Reforestation Visa

This is a Panama visa which is relatively easy to acquire. As an applicant, you are just required to invest $40,000 in a reforestation project.

Secret Bank Account

Used to be part of Panama's banking system but now is no longer offered by banks. Instead, one just need to bank in an offshore jurisdiction that offers bank secrecy. Panama Bank Secrecy laws are the strongest in the world.

Sociedad Anonyma

This is the Spanish term for an anonymous bearer share corporation.

Sparbuch Account

These bank accounts ended in 2002. However, some can still be seen being offered on the internet. Those on the internet are already fraud accounts, so beware. Originally, these accounts were issued from banks in Austria. With this account, you will be given a special passbook that will allow you to conduct banking inside the branch of an Austrian bank using the book as sole ID. The account has a numbered password as protection. Also, with the special account, you can take out $20,000 a day from special ATM machines in Austria anonymously. Most people find this account inconvenient since it requires you to go to Austria and its hard to move the cash around.

Swedish Credit Union

This refers to a financial corporation in Sweden called an Ekonomist Forening. More often than not, these are tied to a Panama financial services corporation. This is not a real creadit union but only has the word incorporated into the name. The general drawback of this offshore company is that the difficulty of getting and keeping a correspondent bank. The inability to have a correspondent bank will result to it failing fast and hard.

Swiss Numbered Bank Account

These Swiss bank accounts were dominant in the 1980s. However, they no longer are being offered by Swiss banks. In this kinds of bank account, the Swiss bank itself don't know who the owner of the account. The owner operated the account through passwords. As replacement for this account, Swiss banks now use a different numbered account wherein the bank knows who you are but access to you’re your information is limited. It is no longer anonymous and the bank is informed whenever the accounts are used for wire transfers. A Panama bank account with an anonymous bearer share corporation has the same features but will not raise any red flags during wire transfers.

Tax Haven

This term describes a country that has little or no income taxation. Panama makes offshore income exempt from taxation and instead impose a fixed tax of $300 a year on a corporation. Note, however that tax haven is separate from bank secrecy laws and policies.

Tax Treaty

This is a term between two or more countries which mostly revolves around taxation. Some treaties require information sharing about bank accounts, while others call for no double taxation.

Virtual Visa or MasterCard

This refers to a card that is issued by virtual terms only. No actual card will be delivered thus the usage of these cards are purely online transactions. ID is often required for these cards.

Writ of Mandamus

This is a literal term meaning "We Command". This term is court issued decisions which can orders another court, group, officials, groups, or individual to do what is ordered. Panama, being a jurisdiction on its own, usually ignores these terms.