Citi Unveils Service for Mass Affluent

Apparently high net-worth individuals aren’t keeping their money at home as much as they used to. With that in mind, Citigroup is looking to appeal to this segment with a new high-end service offering. Through Citigold Global Banking, traveling members can open a new bank account and/or credit card even before arriving in their country of destination.

The bank points to a growing demand among the mass affluent for multi-currency bank accounts and investment opportunities as the impetus for this service. Citi says that in North America two years ago, “73 percent of North American high net-worth individuals’ assets were held domestically compared to 78 percent” in 2005. The New York City-headquartered bank holds $7 trillion in wealth offshore, which is increasing at 11 percent annually, according to Citi.

Citigold Global Banking services are said to be for “time hungry executive travelers, expatriates, investors” and those looking to grow their operations globally. In addition to easy account opening, members will receive immediate access to their credit upon arrival in the new country, access to 574 Citigold lounges, $10,000 in emergency cash from their account available at any Citi branch and fee-free transfers between Citi accounts in 27 countries.

“With the launch of this new service we are offering private banking type services to a wider and growing market of people with lives in more than one country,” says the bank’s business manager for U.K. consumer relations Bert Pijls. “We continue to harness Citi’s global presence and scale to make life easier and better for customers as they travel the world for business or pleasure in a way that few other banks can match.”

The service will be available in these 16 markets: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.  

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