Offshore bank accounts are administered by banks and offer traditional banking services which make it more convenient to utilize the assets held in the accounts for everyday spending, receipt and distribution of funds.

Offshore trading accounts are administered by investment dealers. The main advantage of offshore trading accounts as compared to bank accounts is that besides being able to hold cash in multiple currencies, they can also hold and transact in stocks and a number of other types of investments including bonds and mutual funds. They offer much greater flexibility in terms of providing access to a larger variety of investments.

Like a bank account, they offer services to allow investors to access their money such as wire transfers and issuing of bank drafts. They may also pay interest on cash balances and/or offer access to money market funds in several currencies, which usually offer better yields than holding cash. However, trading accounts are not intended to be used for day-to-day banking transactions. Funds received in such accounts are expected to be used for investment purposes within the account. There may be restrictions on the frequency of funds transfers, particularly for third party payments.