I don’t see why it’s any less smart for expats to blog about issues they have with bank accounts, etc., than if I weren’t an expat. We go through a lot of extra hassles, sometimes for no particularly good reason. I definitely understand that the security issues may have predated terrorism — that’s simply what gets pushed out these days as the new reason for the rules. And I don’t mind rules, if they actually were helpful. But in this case, when I’m a known US filer with that info on file with Google, there’s no particular security reason not to pay me within the US, if I so choose. As for that form, yeah — I know all about it. See It’s Form 90-22.1 Time Again For American Expats, The Annual Waste Of Time Exercise.

The “security” angle here is money laundering, which encompases drugs, organized crime, terrorism, and tax cheats. This kind of stuff is not new and not specifically terrorism related.
By the way, it’s not really smart for expats to blog about issues concerning bank accounts, taxes, real estate, voting domicile and the like. And make sure you’re filing a TD F 90-22.1 every year (especially after this blog post!).

I am based in Spain and Google sends me the money by transfer into my bank account, in euros, no problem there, thank you
But I would also like to have the possibility to change my country of residence. What if I want to move to US?
And why not make it possible to pay to accounts in more than one country? Google Adwords sees no problem asking me for “backup credit card”…
Best regards D.S. I enjoy your WBMRadio shows.
Pex

It sounds like the easiest option might be to setup a new UK bank account with someone like Barclays, although I agree it definitely shouldn’t be that difficult to get a payment!