Indeed the worldwide web has revolutionised expats' everyday lives with 70% now logging on daily and over one in four switching on every hour. The vast majority of expats now have broadband access with almost half of those surveyed owning webcams and one in three opting for cheaper international calls via VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology.

Simon Hull, Managing Director of Alliance & Leicester International comments: "Our research shows that the internet has revolutionised the lives of expats, enabling them to go about their daily lives at the click of a button, any time of the day - helping them to stay in touch, do their shopping and manage their finances. Whether it's making purchases, or transferring money from accounts it's even more important that expats take the same precautions with their safety online as they do offline.

"Having 24 hour access to their money is a necessity for most expats. That's why we've specifically developed our eSaver Offshore savings account with unique online functionality. It provides expat customers with a secure online environment that helps them both manage and set up their account more quickly and easily than any other offshore online account. In addition, unlike other offshore savings providers, whose postal application processes can take weeks to complete, the eSaver Offshore account enables customers to transfer their opening balance within days of opening an account – something which is truly unique to offshore savings accounts."

Alliance & Leicester International's eSaver Offshore is the first offshore savings account to offer an online application process without the need for a 'wet' signature, so regardless of how busy your life becomes setting up an eSaver Offshore savings account could not be easier. By allowing customers to both buy and manage their account online, eSaver Offshore guarantees access to funds anytime and anywhere in the world, in addition to a highly competitive rate of interest of 6.51% Gross AER on balances of GBP1,000 to GBP1m.

Another recent study from ALIL showed that almost a third of expatriates move overseas to land the jobs they want, and the expatriate community is becoming more diverse than ever,. Almost half (40%) are relocating to destinations such as the Middle East, Australia and the USA to further their careers. More recently, expatriate communities as far as Africa, Singapore, Thailand and Russia have been growing.